"Oh shit!"
There seemed little else to say when having caught sight of the White Terror just across the path from his storefront, very much like a literal spectre of death. Worse still when she began making her way through the passers-by with ease, coming right for him.
"Go away! You bad woman! Bad!"
Anything loose, and not of particular value was tossed in her direction while he floundered towards the back room's exit. "Stay away! You give no trouble anymore! I-"
Azera by then had moved inside past the counter, and waited there with a hand on her hip as he left the room while wailing away, only to back into it a few moments later, hands high in the air thanks to Maarani pointing her blaster right into his chest.
"You no understand! Bad woman here! She-!"
It wasn't until he was slammed up against the wall, and both women had glanced at each other, that he realized the real situation he was in. The hope of slipping away while they fought each other had been crushed altogether.
Azera clicked her tongue with a disappointed tone. "Predictable. Didn't even change shops from the last time I was here."
Something that Maarani shrugged off, glaring right at their target. "Don't worry, she's not the one who's going to take another of your fingers."
She twisted the blaster in her hand and smacked it hard against the Rodian's head, leaving a nasty cut that bled a little as he slumped to the ground unconscious.
"And Azera, don't say 'that was easy'. Because he may be an idiot, but this is far from over."
After gesturing at a nearby panel to roll down the shop shutters, giving them a little more privacy from those looking on, Azera knelt down to haul the Rodian back up with one arm around her shoulders.
"Believe me, after what happened, I'm not letting my guard down until we're very far from this mess."
The burden was eased when Maarani finally got to taking up the other arm. "It's not far to the secure room. We need to get to ground before local authorities arrive."
"I still don't think it's a good idea to use the exact same room you interrogated him in the first time."
"It's the last place anyone will look, because they won't believe I'm stupid enough to reuse it after its been compromised."
"Oh, I'm sure they think you're a master tactician alright. I just don't want to take the credit for a stupid plan that wasn't even my idea just because they think I am actually stupid enough to have come up with it myself."
"Just watch your feet and stop drawing attention to us, okay?"
The sound of footsteps down the ramp drew Jayden's attention away from watching over the entryway to their landing bay, carbine at the ready. Dana being the one to make the descent meant being spared the inevitable final conversation with Izan just a little longer.
"They haven't turned us in yet at least. Then again, Azera did take down a lot of those droids, maybe they're not so willing to go after her."
"I don't think they're grateful if that's what you're implying, she's the reason they came to begin with."
"We assume."
Dana just rolled her eyes, stepping off the ramp to Dalchon's surface at last for all the fresh air she was going to get during their time there. "You sure about this?"
Jayden shrugged while securing her carbine, leaving her hands free to ready her helmet. "My contacts went to ground before the droids made their presence known, they've got no reason to assume they were compromised." Once her helmet was on, she made a point of checking that the built-in transceiver was still working. "In any case, we need some way to resume outside contact from the ship. Unless you have a different idea on getting an Imperial-compatible encryption key?"
"Apart from going back to Coruscant, throwing Azera in a cell and going back to find Yuthura once we've modified the ship ourselves? Seeing as the Lady of Sorrows is gone, and thus Sereti has no reason to keep her there, I don't think it's off the table anymore."
"And here I was thinking you had started to catch up with the rest of us."
That was met with a roll of the shoulders while Dana checked on her lightsaber. "I don't care if she's not out to kill Teegs anymore, so long as she continues to use the dark side freely she is a threat. That's a simple fact of being a Force wielder." She levelled her eyes right at the visor in Jayden's helmet. "I don't see you ever using dark powers and dismissing it as something 'harmless and insignificant', much less taking pride in them. I certainly haven't in the rare instances I've been forced to."
"I'll take that as a compliment, assuming it's not an indirect slight at 'callous Mandalorian morality' under the surface."
Dana went quiet. She had come to know Jayden far too well to think anything less of her for being Mandalorian, even if her more open-minded approach to the Sith had clearly started a rift between them.
"What I've observed of Azera's behaviour shows a drastic change from what I observed when she went by Kiarna. And admittedly, I've yet to get a hint of an impression that she's being dishonest. But I just can't bring myself to trust a Sith that has expressed no sign of actually abandoning those ways. Altering them just isn't enough. It can't be done."
The sound of footsteps approaching the top of the ramp indicated Izan's approach for his departure to them both. The time for probable last goodbyes with him.
"Maybe we're about to witness a landmark change in galactic history, where past expectations don't matter anymore."
Once Izan was down the ramp, Jayden held up the set of ion grenades she had retrieved earlier for him to take. "I imagine they'll be rather more expensive here, might as well save some credits. And you never know..."
Izan scoffed at first, but after looking at the few possessions he had with him, he opted to add those grenades to the satchel anyway. "I thought Galactic Space Queen Maarani decreed that expecting the worst means the worst has to be expected. Or something like that."
"This was Maarani's idea actually. She didn't want you getting caught out if the HK-50's show up again."
"Yeah, because I'm clearly worth the trouble to them over the wonder couple. Nice of them to stick around to see me off too."
Jayden could only sigh in contempt. She understood exactly why they had to leave well before anyone else, but reiterating that point to Izan seemed like a waste of time.
"We'll be here for no more than five hours, as agreed. This isn't a place you want to be stuck in while waiting for an open seat to the next planet."
All it took was a slight glance at her leg for Izan to get her point, and opt to go with grace. "Fine. Five hours it is. Tell Maarani we're even, I don't want to owe or be owed anything. Clean slate."
Nothing more needed to be said as far he was concerned, so without any further delay, he made his departure from the landing bay at long last.
While not exactly enamoured by his company, Dana was disappointed at seeing him leave nonetheless. "There goes our connection to grounded reality."
"I thought you were the grounding presence in the crew."
"I'm still sticking around for this, so clearly that's wrong."
Beneath the cover of her helmet, Jayden rolled her eyes, but let the matter drop. "I'll proceed as planned, contact in two hours. Watch your back Dana."
"And you, Jayden."
Even after she had left, Dana remained there at the bottom of the ramp, silently pondering the situation as a whole, then made the slow trawl back up inside, where comfort and security lay.
"I see no-one's been around to fix this lamp."
In lieu of the defunct light source, Maarani brought out the portable light source grabbed from the ship earlier, setting it to one side to beam across the table where they had slumped the Rodian onto.
"This place is abandoned, right? Usually that means stuff doesn't get fixed."
Azera tilted her head, then moved around to the right side of the table, standing in an imposing posture. "He's waking up."
Maarani drew her blaster, waiting for the Rodian to lift his head out of the way before laying it out in front of him. Her lightsaber remained within easy reach on her belt.
"Welcome back. Go ahead and challenge the Sith'ari to a game of quickdraw if you dare."
He looked at Maarani, then at the blaster, and then at Azera. All before slumping back in the awful chair with an exasperated sigh. "You going to ask stupid questions too?"
Almost immediately, Azera's hand went to the mask.
Something Maarani took special note of. "What kind of stupid questions? Since we're not looking to waste time here, you'd be doing us both a big favour by cutting to the chase."
More glances between the two caused the Rodian to become more than a little frantic. "She ask if she murderer because of brain defect! She also ask me if Jedi or Sith bomb Katarr!"
Maarani's eyes slid over to Azera, a bit of a coy smile starting to roll up.
"I'm just going to go ahead and blame you for throwing off my usual interrogation plans Maarani. This was just days after we met after all."
"Oh sure, blame me for choosing to work out personal problems in the middle of an interrogation. Like you're doing now!"
"I swear you just thrive on seizing every single opportunity to act like we're already deep into a relationship by starting up the most petty of arguments at the most inopportune times! Where exactly is the twisted sense of enjoyment to be found in it all huh?"
"Maybe I'm just that kind of psycho! And maybe I'm feeling out what it's like being stuck with you for the rest of my life for all the other arguments I get to have with a galactic Empress. And maybe I'm just giving our friend here a chance to prove he's an idiot by going for the blaster while he thinks we're completely distracted."
The Rodian slowly drew his hand back from the blaster, shuddering as the attention returned to him in full.
"You no want waste time, yet you waste time anyway! What wrong with you women?"
"It's called 'rattling the saber', though I don't get where that expression comes from since lightsabers don't really rattle, unless they're badly made like mine…"
The continued rambling made Azera groan in utter frustration, though she did still stop short of throwing something across the room. "Here's our problem; what you told me was a blatant lie based on what Maarani remembers. We want to know why you lied about what happened in a way that tangles you in the mess more than the truth does. That's either just a whole other level of stupid, or you were leading me into a trap that was never sprung because I stopped pursuing her shortly after."
"Yeah I feel like 'pursuing' is the wrong word in this-"
"Oh shut up already. Go watch the door or something."
Once Maarani had sulked off to do just that, in a manner with so much exaggeration on the sulk that it was rather sickening, Azera turned her full attention to the Rodian at long last.
"At least tell me this. Is your guy part of the Fallen in any way? Or is he completely separate from that mess?"
For the first time, there was an actual pause for thought, rather than the inane babbling at the pair's inability to actually conduct an interrogation.
"The Fallen hate Lady of Balance, call her False One. He no specify if same Lady he speak of. Only say Sith are in danger."
Azera nodded slowly. Past experience harkened back to a particular detail that had remained in her mind for some time, and now had relevance at last. "Has he ever a lal mentioned something along the lines of 'the False One is searching for her mate, a blind woman' then?"
To that, the Rodian slowly shook his head, a lot of the frantic fear having subsided now that things had settled.
"Fine, I believe that much. Back to the question then of why you deliberately called out premeditation of Maarani's encounter with him when that wasn't what happened? Why not just admit he contacted you after? Why did he contact you at all for that matter?"
After a bit more blustering, the Rodian finally sighed in defeat. They had yet to actually physically harm him, but pushing that reprieve no longer seemed like a good idea.
"You got it wrong. He give me instructions long before, months and months. He say 'Twi'lek woman come looking for ship, ensure she come to me', and pay well, no questions I ask. So I rig worthless vessel to only reach far enough for his planet. Nowhere else Ryloth traveller go from here other than Corellian Run I assume."
Maarani finally looked back from the doorway, frowning quite a bit in distrust. "I know he was a Force user, but if he could see that much into the future, why did he act like he wasn't expecting me at all?"
"I'm getting to that." After another sigh, Azera tilted her head for him to continue.
"After I send her off, later he call again. Warn that Jedi come asking questions, tell me I must say faulty ship, accident happen. He promise no charges come, pay more, so I do that. Jedi come and ask questions, then leave me alone, no follow-up. I go back to job."
For a moment, Maarani quickly glanced back at the doorway, having thought a sound had echoed through. When the silence settled back in she slowly relaxed, turning half her gaze back to him again.
"Then days before White Terror arrive, he call again. Say I must change story when others come, claim I planted bomb, his instruction. More credits, I no question plan. I no expect bitch with lightsaber disintegrating my finger!"
"Classy. And I thought Maarani was the only one who repeatedly called me a bitch."
"Not like it was undeserved for a good chunk of that time. Especially when I called you racist bitch."
"Regardless…" It took another bracing sigh for Azera to feel ready to continue. "I'm still not seeing why it was suddenly necessary to mention him, but hide the fact that he blew up that shuttle. Or did he neglect to tell you that detail too?"
At that, Maarani left the doorway, gently motioning her hand in an indication that she was actually thinking things through for a change. "This is pure speculation, but hear me out. He had the droids following me by then, he knew that the Lady of Sorrows was resurfacing, and that she had imprinted on you. So, seeing as he couldn't entirely count on the droids, he needed you to go searching for him instead of me, so he could kill you himself since you wouldn't be expecting a Force user. Obviously he didn't count on Sloane ripping that memory block out to expose the truth, or that Darth Nihilus would destroy the Lady of Sorrows and solve the problem for him."
"Pure speculation huh?"
"What? I've been doing a lot of thinking about all these events, there's still gaps but things are starting to fall into place, and that's what fits. And it's not like this guy has much else to-"
Both heard the familiar sound of clanking metal at that moment, just as a HK-50 barreled into view, stun rifle at the ready.
Azera was quick to lash out her hand, intending to hurl the droid away long enough to prepare for the inevitable swarm of them right behind, while Maarani reached for her own blaster blindly, having turned to face the incoming threat.
It took only a moment to realize that it was gone. And another moment to guess where it was now located.
"You-!"
Before the Rodian could fire, Azera had redirected her push attack to him instead on a split second reflex, hurling him against the opposing wall with a hard thump. The blaster flew from his hand, clattering over to a corner. But saving Maarani from whatever fate awaited her, most likely having one of her lekku shot off, did have the unfortunate consequence of leaving herself open to attack from the droid.
By the time Maarani came out of the chilling shock of brushing with death, Azera had been thrown against the table by the stun blast, leaving her completely unarmed and helpless.
The HK-50 glared down at her as she looked back up in genuine fear that even her momentary wit couldn't shake off.
"For the record, it wasn't my idea to bring him to this place."
A second stun blast saw her slumping to the floor beside Azera, both women now unconscious.
After a glance between them, the droid lowered its weapon and looked over to the Rodian as he slowly clambered back up. "Query: Are you injured?"
"Bruise on face, bruise on back of head!" He muttered in his native language for a bit before waving the matter off. "I no lose fingers this time. White bitch not so sadistic. Blue bitch stupid schutta!"
"Exasperation: Ah, the fascination you organics have with vulgar language. Pitiable."
"I know I don't look like much, but believe me, I've survived a lot worse than some third rate pirates."
The Gran at the other side of table from Izan, captain of the crew he had hoped to joined, mumbled to her first officer, a rather battle-torn Wookiee, for a long minute before speaking into the translator unit between them.
"We don't run into third rate pirates, pretty boy. And I know for a fact that Zeltrons can scar. You're cleaner than an Alderaani backside from the look of it."
Izan scratched at his beard. Nearly two hours of sitting in the cantina, and the only good option he had come across so far was already looking to decline. "Well, I've fought HK-50s, some crazy droid-worshipping pirates, a few dozen Imperial soldiers, and a raging Twi'lek lesbian with a lightsaber. In ascending order of danger of course. Surely getting past all of that unscathed has to count for something?"
That resulted in more murmuring from them both, and not the kind that indicated they were willing to hear him out based on what he could discern from the glances cast at him. Which eventually led to the captain leaning forward to speak, with quite the stern look.
"Word is the HK-50's have been hunting Sith in particular, among other special targets. Tangling with them isn't something I'd brag about, boy. That kind of talk gets the wrong kind of attention. And we won't have any part of it."
"Right, well to be clear they weren't after me at all, just happened to be in the vicinity of one of their surprise attacks." The further discontentment had him on edge, prompting a little more effort to his persuasion. "Besides, I'd know if there was any kind of bounty on my head. I do happen to have a close contact high up in the Exchange, which I'm sure would be of some use to a crew like yours."
That time there was quiet thought from the captain, those three eyes looking him over with a bit more scrutiny.
"What kind of contact? We don't take volatile jobs. And 'special contacts' are almost always the ones handing them out."
Izan clicked his tongue. "Right, well I don't think she's the sort that handles contracts, these days anyway. I think she's more about the management, and coordination now. There's volatile contracts, and then there's exclusive contracts, and I'm pretty sure that-"
The sound of clanking metal began to ring out through the cantina entryway, over the faint music that was playing throughout the sparse room. Not long after, all three caught a glimpse of gleaming metal moving past the entryway itself, and then by a nearby window.
Even before turning back, he could tell where things were headed, bringing on a disheartened sigh. "I can guarantee it's nothing to do with me."
As he so rightly predicted, the two retrieved their weapons and made for the back alley exit without another word, and certainly without any indication that they wanted him to follow.
"Good job Maarani. Even when I call it quits, I'm still roped into helping you."
One hand went to his blaster, the other to the EMP grenade he had stashed away deep on the now vain hope that it was just a sign of excess caution.
"So much for that Corellian Sunspot."
Halfway through the 32nd chapter of Recount at the Summit of Ykran, Dana set the pad down abruptly, left staring at the pristine white ceiling of her cabin yet again.
"Cecile? Is the ship's comms actually working?"
"Yes Jedi Master Lauran, I can hear you clearly."
"No, I don't mean the internal-" After applying mild pressure to the side of her head, quelling her frustration, she swung herself up to a sitting position on the edge of the bunk. "It's been over two hours and I've yet to hear from Jayden. Has she tried to make contact at all?"
"There is no record of incoming transmissions since landing. Perhaps she forgot to relay through the ship?"
"I would have noticed if she tried a direct link." To assure herself of that anyway, she lifted the holo-communicator off the nearby shelf. As she expected, no notification of any incoming channels. Something that ended up leaving her more concerned than satisfied at remaining observant.
One glance to her lightsaber was all she needed. Something had obviously gone wrong.
"Cecile, could you guard the ship? If Izan, Maarani, or Jayden for that matter show up, let me know. I feel like things are about to take a bad turn."
"And what of Mistress Vass?"
"It's her ship and she's a Sith Lord. What do you think you should do if she comes back?"
"I see your point, Jedi Master Lauran."
Dana spent the next minute preparing herself for what she had to anticipate was a fight of some sort, whether it was indeed the HK-50s, or yet another Hidden Hand cell remained to be seen. They were way too far from Imperial space for it to be Sith after all.
"Play it careful, Cecile. This time we don't want attention drawn here. Be sure you know who you're shooting at if someone tries to board unannounced."
"Understood. Good luck to you."
After a quick swipe of her hair to clear it from her face, she gestured at her lightsaber to have it fly to her hand, that determined look of hers setting in.
"Last time we split up without proper communication, I swear…"
On her way out, she retrieved her communicator, making some quick adjustments to ensure that the receiving end wouldn't send out any audible or visual alarm, counting against the chance that Jayden was in a precarious spot.
Even with the receive volume turned down as well, she kept her voice to a whisper. "Jayden, you've got five minutes before I start looking for you and the others. Something isn't right, and we need to group up."
All Jayden could do was roll her eyes as the message came through to her helmet. With her hands raised either side, there was no way she could get in a response before being gunned down by the seven HK-50's aiming rifles at her.
"Statement: We were warned about a Mandalorian joining the party of Tegama'Arani some time ago. It is pleasing to finally have confirmation of that development."
"Right… You're really far behind on intel then huh?"
"Clarification: We do not consider any information confirmed until proper verification in person by any one of our units. Attempting to offend any concept of ego in a droid is a very naive move."
"Assertion: I believe she was doing far more than hurling an insult."
Some of the droids turned their heads very slightly to the left as another approached, much heavier from the deep clanking that came from the direction of the doorway, and soon the leader itself appeared.
Clad in reinforced armour, coated with nullifying resin, radiator hatches lining the two shoulders. Just as Azera and Maarani had described from each of their encounters.
"Warning: Further attempts to goad information out will be entirely unsuccessful. Failure to comply with instructions given will result in immediate removal of limbs, one per infraction."
Jayden twisted her lips, remaining very still to avoid giving any kind of acknowledgement. Eight droids, with one of them impervious to almost all attacks still left her in a very difficult spot. And her sole advantage seemed to be that they didn't know exactly who they were dealing with.
Time, and a distraction were the things she needed most.
"Don't say it."
"Oh here we go…"
The room Maarani and Azera had been taken to was rather desolate. A few storage crates lining the room, along with a couple of footlockers, the only source of light being tiny windows at the very top of each wall. Two HK-50s were standing behind the locked doors, staring at them constantly. Something they were exceptionally good at after all.
"I mean it Maarani."
"Yeah, and I mean it too! I literally said it was a stupid idea, but we went ahead with it anyway because you insisted."
Azera's exasperation led to her straining against the resin cuffs that had been entwined with those restraining Maarani, keeping them uncomfortably close together as they tried very hard not to lean against the other's back. Despite the strain and exhaustion that it brought on.
"More than likely he was being watched, and the droids would have come for us regardless of where we went. They do have a ship to do surface scans with after all."
"And your ship should've noticed a Hammerhead with more guns than…" Maarani clenched her hands, then groaned in annoyance herself. "The one time I can't think of a good comparison to point out just how bleeding awful this all is."
"Awful huh? And I thought being locked in a room, handcuffed to another woman within very easy reach of her ass was a dream come true of yours."
Maarani yanked the cuffs rather fiercely for that. "Oh yes let's keep traipsing that old joke out until it dies a miserable death that still won't be as bad as what we'll get at the end of this, why don't we?"
"If I feel so much as a finger straying where it shouldn't, our bug-eyed friend won't be the only one missing some."
"He's going to miss a hell of a lot more when I get to him. And like I'd ever touch you willingly. I need my fingers after all."
Azera finally responded by yanking back, while trying not to choke up into her mask. "You are utterly disgusting."
"Oh come on. I won't believe for a moment that the freaking Sith of all people are entirely above something as carnal as-"
"I reiterate; don't say it!"
The escalation to a near screaming match finally made Maarani relent, if only for a few minutes. Long enough to stop being angry at Azera and start thinking, and then stop thinking to go at it from an entirely new angle.
"Oh for crying out loud! I get it now! The great Sith'ari is a prude!"
"What!?"
"I'm hitched to a fucking prude! In all the possible meanings of the word! Thank you Lady of Balance! Thank you for sticking me with something even worse than a bloodthirsty Sith that's out for my blood! A prude!"
"I hate you. Actually no, I loathe you. You are the most petty, pathethic, stuck-up, self-interested mouth breather that I have ever had the misfortune of encountering!"
That time, Maarani simply tried to twist her head around to look at Azera, or at least her mask. "Mouth breather?"
"Just…" Azera sighed it off with a tilt back of her head that was supposed to show just how exasperated she was, but instead ended up bumping right against Maarani's lekku.
Something she was entirely ready to be repulsed by, and yet found herself simply accepting. That one tidbit of consolation that she wasn't entirely alone in that helpless situation. Not like it had felt when Darth Nihilus invaded her mind.
"Can we agree to not argue with each other until we're out of this mess, Tegama?"
Maarani was ready to complain about the feeling of hair on her lekku, but she too had somehow found it far from repulsive in that moment. To the point that she actually tilted her head into it a little more with a little sigh.
"Jayden or Dana will figure out there's droids on the loose soon enough. I guess I can shut up until they bust the door down and cut us free of each other."
"Right now, I'll settle for not being doomed to the fate of having my mind destroyed by a stranger who won't even bother to fight us in person."
"I can get behind that."
In the peaceful silence that followed, Maarani began glancing around their surroundings again, putting a little more thought towards escape. Inevitably, it all came back to the doorway, and the two droids staring in at them.
"Must be nice only having two names to go by. There's so many variations of mine out there by now it's just getting kinda absurd."
"I haven't spotted anything of use either, though my sight is heavily limited by the very presence of these cuffs."
"Not even gonna give a little idle chat huh?"
Azera sighed again, though that time not out of frustration. "Do you want pet names for each other, or are you implying we shouldn't do that, because I'm failing to see another underlying point here."
"I dunno, just figured you having two different names while I've got over half a dozen variants of mine was something worth discussing. We're still going to be stuck here for a while regardless, and if we're done insulting each other we're gonna need some other subject to pass the time. Unless you really think we need special names for each other."
"Funny, not so long ago you were all about the bonding experience." While giving it thought, Azera carefully tilted her head forward to give her neck some much needed stretches, something she couldn't do as well with the rest of her body to alleviate the other impending tension cramps.
Eventually, inspiration did come to her. "Az and Tee."
"Az and Tee? First two letters of our names? That's what you come up with?"
The sound of a lightsaber slicing through metal rang out at that moment, cutting that conversation off. The sound of their rescue coming at long last.
As soon as the two droids watching them looked in the direction of that sound, both women quickly began to shift over to one side out of the direct line of fire, and where some of the storage crates could help them finally stand back up.
"Guess Dana got more paranoid than I thought."
"Perhaps." While the lightsaber wielder drew closer, and the droids watching them left altogether, Azera did her best to cast her gaze in that direction. It didn't take long to notice the absence of a strong light presence that would indicate either Jedi.
For that matter, there was no dark presence either. And that really had her concerned.
"Tee, we need to get back down. That's not either of your friends out there."
Rather than complaining or arguing, Maarani focused on clambering back to the floor safely, waiting until they were both mostly out of sight before even speaking. "Let me guess, the Fallen. I've been warned about them myself, and Jayden told me about the hospital."
"Well I can't be sure, all I know is that whomever is out there is a very strong Force user, and that there's no-"
The doors opened carefully to a figure in grey robes, concealed by a matching hood, who approached in a calm, non-aggressive manner.
"Great Lady, have the droids harmed you or the Healer in any way?"
While Maarani was hesitant despite the seemingly friendly tone, Azera recognized that voice immediately and prompted for them both to stand up.
"We're fine. I believe we've met before, in a sense."
The figure nodded his head. "You were in the company of Jayden Mires of Mandalore. The Fallen had come to eliminate you, in their irrational fear that you were a threat to be disposed of. We ensured they failed in that task."
"You also said we had nothing more to discuss, so long as we stayed out of the way of the Fallen."
After another nod, the figure turned his head, presumably to look directly at Maarani. "At the time that was true. However, seeing as you have resolved the bloodfeud, things have changed."
At that, he lifted his arm towards them, two lightsabers and a blaster pistol hovering out from the sleeve. One of the blades activated, very carefully hovering up between the pair, and slicing through the chains of the cuffs to free them at last, then moved to join the other weapons nearby.
Maarani was quick to grab up her lightsaber and cut the locks off the cuffs themselves, finally freeing her sore wrists from the chafe. "Harton gave me the message from the Voice. I know you're probably expecting this, but I still have to ask if there's anything your lot can do about the block that's keeping me from using the Force."
As expected, her answer began with a head shake. "The Lady instructed us not to directly interfere with your journey, only to aid in times of crisis, when outside forces threatened your very life. We also cannot point the way to Yuthura Ban, her location is unknown to us. However, we are told you already know where to find the one who can."
"Oh, I see. So the droids tell me this cryptic riddle that I finally figured out means the light and dark sides of the force, so I needed to seek out the grey in between, but I can't actually go to the grey for help because I have to do this on my own. Very helpful."
By then, Azera had also freed herself from the cuffs, leaving her free to lightly grab Maarani's arm. "Maarani, the in-between part is more than just grey. He's talking about the Living Force."
It took a little while for that to soak in, but when it did, Maarani finally nodded in understanding. "Right. Yes, that's it…" She looked back to the figure with a small nod. "You're right. I do know where I need to go next."
"Then my work here is done, I am not permitted to interfere further, for fear that the Fallen will retaliate by escalating their attacks against those around you in particular. Good luck to you in defeating the droids."
He was gone back through the corridor within seconds, and from what Azera observed now free of the cuffs, from the planet altogether.
"The Following have use of shatterspace rifts then. Probably one reason why they've gone unnoticed for so long."
"Well, the Lady of Balance was able to bring me through shatterspace herself, back at Ketaris. I guess it's not hard once you know how to do it."
Azera lifted her lightsaber up, starting to approach the doorway with appropriate caution. "Your sister also displayed mastery over that power as soon as she obtained the third holocron. But given that stopped as soon as she was inhibited, I expect it requires a great deal of power to utilize."
"Basically, you can't just zip us over to the Vastes, right?"
"She only taught me dark speed, which as you noticed has a near-fatal flaw to it if not used precisely. I don't know whether or not even my master is capable of traversing shatterspace physically."
By then they had entered a much larger room from the various corridors they had traversed, stepping over droids along the way. It was indeed a warehouse as the room they had been kept in suggested, with the notable amount of repulsor-trolleys, half filled crates and other signs of activity giving the impression that the droids had raided it swiftly, and very recently.
"No blood that I can see. They're not above shooting bystanders, but I guess they don't just default to gunning down everyone in the way."
"Droids are entirely about efficiency after all, Tee. Most likely they just wanted a place to bunker down in until their ship gets back. Much easier to wave guns and herd them all into a back room."
Maarani didn't comment on that possibility, mostly because any hostages in the building would likely be freed by whatever qualified as local authorities when the droids cleared out. But there was also a small sense of comfort in just how calmly Azera had described it all. The lack of disapproval at the droids not having gone and murdered complete innocents.
"Others will get them loose. Right now I'm more worried about the fact that we're not so likely to just get a second round of stun blasts if we come around the wrong corner."
By then they had reached the other side of the warehouse, leading out into a side alley that was just barely wide enough to walk through.
"I agree. Fortunately for you, there's no need to poke your head around said corner."
"However did we manage without a Miraluka on our side?"
"Dumb luck? Do keep in mind I wasn't originally there on Ketaris to chase you lot down." Azera had been extending her sight out to observe all angles on that alley, and after seeing no droids with weapons trained on it, began to advance outside. "Speaking of which, when we get out of this mess I'd like to know what exactly you said to Mozin."
"Hey, Az, if we get out of this intact I promise we'll be talking for a long while about all the crazy things that have happened these past months. Don't you worry."
"Caution: Target identified, activating offensive-"
The hiss of metal and circuitry falling under Dana's lightsaber drew far more attention to the fallen droid than she would have liked, prompting her to begin ducking for enclosed passageways once again, all while trying to maintain a link to the ship as well.
"Cecile, I just came across a HK-50. Any word from the others at all?"
"Not as of yet."
"The only good thing is that we know what we're up against now. If they approach the ship, don't go crazy with the droid poppers, you're only resistant, not immune after all."
She reached the end of that narrow walkway, where she stopped to get a more clear view of the open area ahead, and collect her thoughts in the meantime.
"See if you can get in touch with Izan. If you get through, ask him to head towards my position. Better off not going at it alone in this case."
"I compliment your good judgement in following the example set by Mistress Maarani by taking the mass murderer with her."
"Much as I don't like the comparison, the fact that you-"
Blaster shots hurtling down the street from the left sent her right back into cover, shoving the communicator away and bringing her lightsaber up to a ready position. Shortly after, various civilians began to flee for hiding places and other means of escape in the vicinity, all while droids approached at jogging speed.
Either they were going elsewhere in a hurry, both good and bad since it most likely meant someone had escaped, or they were looking to eliminate any threat on sight.
"Well great. Guess I get to fight them after all."
While her hairdo meant there was none left to dangle in her face, a flick of her head felt appropriate all the same before she strode out into the open, bringing her lightsaber to life. The droids were close indeed by then, all three stopping while she settled into position.
"Warning: Target identified; Jedi Master Dana Lauran. Threat level; high. Projected stance; aggressive. Conclusion; eliminate with extreme prejudice."
Dana cracked a smile. "That's right, bring in every droid you have."
Staring back at the HK leader model for several minutes on end had Jayden very concerned. There shouldn't have been a reason for it to prioritize watching her over keeping track of Maarani and Azera surely, especially not with seven other droids as backup.
Even if they had become aware of her real identity for that matter, and that was debatable.
An abrupt exchange of binary between some of the standard models drew the leader's attention away. Being smart, Jayden remained very still throughout, keeping an eye on the two droids that kept their weapons trained on her.
To her satisfaction, three droids departed soon after, a significant improvement of her odds.
But not quite enough for her to feel confident in making her move just yet.
"Query: Is it sensibility that keeps you from making a sarcastic remark in order to garner more information, and thus necessitate damage to a limb at random? Or is it simply an ingrained discipline of obedience in a crisis situation?"
Jayden remained very silent.
"Assertion: You are presumably waiting until more droids are called away, strengthening your position. What if more droids were to come and replace them?"
Still no response.
Another exchange of binary occurred, followed by the HK leader starting to lower his rifle towards Jayden's legs, aiming at the left knee.
"Conclusion: It appears that our intelligence on you is indeed lacking after all. Clearly there is a plan in mind, one which we cannot allow to proceed."
The time to act had come, even if she wasn't certain of success.
"Go ahead and try."
Her first action sprung her over to the left, giving her just under a second to hastily reach down and retrieve her lightsaber from where she kept it hidden. In that time, the first volley of blaster shots rang out. The one fired by the leader was impossible to avoid, forcing her to dampen the blow with the armor covering her artificial leg.
While the rest sailed past, she had her weapon in hand at last, and had just enough skill in deflection to defend against further attacks. For the time being, she chose not to even look at what damage had been done to the point of impact in that synthetic thigh.
The presence of the lightsaber was enough for the HK leader to halt the attack with a gesture. After a few twitches of the head, it motioned again, signalling the departure of the other four droids.
"Conclusion: You are Jayden Mires, trained in Jedi methods, capable of using the Force, deadly with a variety of weapons including the lightsaber. Mainline HK-50 droids would be entirely ineffective in combat against such an opponent."
"Let me guess, you needed absolute confirmation of that fact."
Jayden lashed her free hand to her belt, catching the EMP grenade with her fingers in such a way that allowed her to arm and flick it right at the leader in a quick motion without lowering her guard.
It made direct contact with the chassis, latching onto the surface and discharging the pulse immediately.
After several seconds, the leader reached its hand up, and flicked the grenade away effortlessly.
"Mockery: We droids clearly didn't have the foresight to invest in upgrades after the failure at Citadel Station. No of course not, we are far too narrow-circuited for such foresight."
It was a severe setback that almost made Jayden lower her guard in defeat. The one clear weakness somehow resolved. "Great, just great…"
The HK leader chucked his blaster rifle with little regard, drawing out a long metal rod that telescoped out into a vibrostaff, the keen edge looking very sharp, and fully charged.
"Assurance: Adaptation is key to effective disposal of organics. To this end, I am programmed to counter a large variety of fighting techniques. Taunt: Do your best, Mandalorian, for nothing will be enough."
"No fixing ships! No trashy shops! No sticking neck out and get caught!"
He had only enough room for a few clothes and the most valuable parts that he had collected up over the years as insurance against any significant mishaps, given the likelihood of actually landing a high class ship in need of such parts was miniscule.
"No more crazy women! No Twi'leks! Discrimination save life, discrimination worth!"
A few grumbles later, including one at the stump on his hand, and the Rodian was all set to leave.
"Need new place. Far away. Work for Hutts maybe-"
Out of nowhere, his entire body froze up. Instinctively he tried to move against whatever was holding him in place, only for the invisible hold around him to strengthen further.
Shortly after, that hold lifted him into the air, completely immobilized and helpless.
Azera strode into the room at that moment, her hand outstretched, and notably not resorting to the typical Sith chokehold.
"You interrupted us before the final question. Answer it, and you'll walk out of here. We'll tell the others in our crew that the droids stopped us from chasing you down."
After everything that he had been through, the Rodian finally found his nerve, doing his best to spit in Azera's direction.
"No! No help bad women! No questions! No answers!"
Dark instinct told Azera to tighten the hold, to slowly crush his body, one bone at a time. Instead she went for lifting him higher, letting the mere rumble of the Force at work rattle around his ears until he caved.
"Where did your employer go? Where do we find him?"
"No speak! I no speak! I-"
A blaster shot struck him right through the forehead, causing him to instantly go limp in Azera's hold.
After dropping him to the floor rather unceremoniously, she turned her head to Maarani in annoyance.
Maarani herself had slipped back into the demeanour of a cold killer, momentarily anyway. "We're done wasting time. One loose end that won't come back to bite us now."
"Maarani, at the very least I could have searched his mind-"
"No." The tension grew for a few moments, easing a little once Maarani lowered her blaster from the direction in which she had fired. "I know what's involved when Sith go digging for information in people's minds. We are not waiting around that long."
With the Rodian dead anyway, there seemed little point in arguing more, leading Azera to sigh the whole matter off. "Fine. Next time we have a lead, and we're not in immediate danger or otherwise preoccupied, we pursue it. Agreed?"
Maarani rolled her eyes and went right back towards the door they had come through. "Whatever. We still have a lot of droids to get through first."
Azera followed a little bit later, taking the time to ensure that a blast to the head had indeed done the job of ending the Rodian's life.
"At least you shot him in the front of the head, and not the back. Then again he wasn't blind so the sentiment doesn't work…"
Before long, they were both racing through back alleys in the vague direction of the Vastes. Without the return of her communicator, presumably destroyed outright by the droids, all she had was Azera's vague knowledge of where there wasn't any Force energy to warn them of what waited between them and safety.
"You know, Jayden and Dana have probably run into the droids as well by now. Which means they'll probably using more of their powers. Which means you should have an easier time spotting them, right Az?"
"That's not quite how it works Tee. At most I'll sense activity in a general direction, it doesn't make them the equivalent of brighter to…"
By that point, they had crossed into a now deserted market area that had seemingly offered cover in what was otherwise an exposed area.
Something that the multitude of droids that came out of hiding had apparently counted on, quickly surrounding them from rooftops and ground level alike.
Even though both had their weapons already drawn and ready, the odds were vastly stacked against them.
"Let me guess, it's my fault for distracting you."
"More likely they've learned how to hide from Miraluka more effectively. I don't blame you for things purely out of spite you know."
"Can't tell if that's assuring or indicative."
The two slowly moved back towards the middle, facing away from each other until they were mere centimetres from bumping. Two lightsabers couldn't hope to hold against the near two dozen blaster rifles trained on them, especially when one was lacking the advantage of a user with foresight.
After a long staredown, the nearest of the HK-50s finally decided to speak up.
"Warning: Further infractions will not be tolerated. Surrender now or face excruciating dismemberment."
Maarani chewed at her lip, rightfully nervous at that moment. "I know you said something about the focus emitter or whatever having a bonus to blaster deflection, but I'm not sure it'll be enough. It's not like personal shields would hold up long against this kind of firepower anyway."
"If you want to surrender just say so. There's no way I can sustain dark speed long enough to destroy all of them. And sufficient lightning strikes would leave me too vulnerable. Not a lot of options here."
"Warning: No discussion is permitted. Surrender or mutilation are your options. Choose now."
On an impulse, Maarani looked back over her shoulder, once her lekku had slipped out of the way.
Azera tilted her head to match that look as best she could, then slowly nodded.
They had mere seconds of real time to discuss, plan and execute their means of escaping that situation, all of which required drastic means of getting her intent across to Maarani.
"Alright. We surrender."
Maarani herself was ready to complain, but the sound of a lightsaber dropping lightly to the ground, followed by the mask of all things compelled her to do the same.
"Yeah, you lot win. No shooting limbs off."
Only when the droids shifted back from their precise aim did Azera feel ready to make the next crucial step.
"Before you cart us off to wherever, I have a very simple request."
There was a stifled breath of dread from behind.
The nearest of the droids raised its rifle towards her now exposed face at that moment. "Caution: Any indication of Sith trickery will not be tolerated."
Azera nodded, lightly licking at those mangled lips of hers. "Let me kiss Maarani while I have the chance."
"Oh for goddess' sake you are not doing that! Apart from being one of the stupidest cliches I have ever heard of you barely even have lips to kiss with! And-"
The petulant whining from Maarani had kept her far too occupied to put up much of a struggle while Azera swung her around by her shoulders. When she did come face to face with her in extremely close proximity, to the point of feeling rather more bodily contact than she would have ever wanted with her, that turned to utter helplessness.
"Shut up and let me enjoy my first kiss with another woman already!"
"No! I'm not going to just let you enjoy it!"
Azera noticed many of the droids beginning to approach, ready to break the scene up and escort them off, leaving her with no time left to argue. Her hands virtually lashed from Maarani's shoulders to the sides of her head so that she could yank her forward at last.
An action that conveniently matched up with the forceful kiss as their lips finally met, while also allowing her hands to make enough surface contact to very briefly link their minds in full.
It wasn't until they had reached that full level of connection that Maarani felt enough control of herself to finally shove Azera off her, with quite a bit of fury no less.
"I say no and you force it anyway!? You bitch!"
By then Azera had straightened up after the shove, keeping her calm composure in spite of it. "If I just reached my hands to your head they'd know something was up. We don't have long before the link breaks, so maybe rather than yelling at me you can shut up and listen."
"Seems I don't get a choice since you'll just ignore my wishes and talk over me regardless!"
"Tee, we are not getting out of this without working together. And I mean putting a hell of a lot of trust in each other, because the only way I can take out all of those droids at once will leave me entirely defenceless for a good minute at the very least."
None of it brought even the slightest assurance to Maarani, who rather aggressively glared at Azera while clawing into the sleeves of her jacket. "One crappy lightsaber in the hands of someone who can't use the Force is not going to stop all those droids. Even if it's got some kind of bonus to blaster deflection or whatever."
At that, Azera began to move closer again. Her pondering and reminiscing had come to a crucial point.
"You can use the Force, Tee. Just not consciously."
It was such a completely outlandish statement that she didn't even know how to respond to it for a little while. Something not helped by the apparent time constraints they were under.
"I'm sorry, but where does that even come from? And how does it even make a difference? This is quite literally the stupidest time to bring up some half-cooked theory of yours!"
"Think about it. We have a Force bond that we actively communicate through now, there have been times when the Lady of Sorrows could use the Force through your body, and I'd bet that you've had moments of connection yourself. That stranger didn't cut you off or make you fully deaf to the Force. He could only keep you from consciously wielding its power."
There was enough logic to it for Maarani to pause and give it thought, though her mood remained quite poor and showed no signs of improving.
"Still doesn't help. I don't think falling asleep will suddenly make me capable of protecting you from all those droids."
Azera made one final advance, closing the distance between them again to ensure that there was no mistaking her next words.
"I know there is a fragment of Vahl in you, passed down from the spark Dana was imbued with by her blood. Give in to the dark side for just that minute, let that fragment handle our defense. It is the only way this will work."
It felt like a wall holding back disbelief shattered. That slow, agonizing build-up of inklings of trust towards Azera all broken in an instant. The final, inevitable words that Dana herself had warned would come sooner or later.
"After everything I've been through, at the hands of all you Sith…" It took a lot of mental will to stop myself from turning dark but now none of that matters?"
"Tee…" This time when Azera's hands came up to her shoulders, they weren't forceful, or desperate. Just gentle, tempered by genuine concern. "I know what Sloane did to you. I heard your half of that argument with Dana. I heard everything you said." When there was no struggle against the hold that time, she tightened her fingers just a little, enforcing that sole tangible feeling between them. "I am not trying to turn you towards the ways of the Sith. It is just a very simple fact that the dark side is our only hope of getting through this intact. This is not the easy route. It is the only route. And I promise you, it will only be this one time."
The unexpected change in tone had caused Maarani to falter from that harsh, offended stance after trust had failed her. And even with all those assurances, the doubt remained.
"I bet when Ajunta Pall first used the dark side, he promised everyone it was 'just one time'."
"I'm not Ajunta Pall. I'm not some disgruntled Jedi exploring new concepts that the Council disapprove of vehemently. I know the dark side better than almost everyone else in the galaxy, and I know how to keep it in check. This is something we do together."
With it all in mind, Maarani finally found herself nodding reluctantly. As she had said herself, it was not a circumstance that allowed for thinking about things in depth, for looking for any other options beyond the accessible.
"Try and kiss me without my consent ever again, and I will slap you. Prude."
"I'm not the one with a flaming lesbian drive in this relationship, Tee. And I certainly don't kiss without good reason."
As the connection began to wane at last, she brought her hands back up to Maarani's head, and finally returned to the kiss itself. Matching with their physical state once more, ready to return to it, and face success or death.
Together.
Keeping to the fundamentals of the Soresu form of lightsaber combat, every move Dana made was both precise, and very close to the centre of her body.
Predictable, but against droids that were undeniably inferior to their originator model, entirely effective.
"Haven't felt this uninterested in a fight since training days at the Temple."
Shots that came her way were either deflected by both the lightsaber and the Force, blocked if the angle could not be controlled into a non-destructive vector, or evaded altogether as needed. The evasion attempts of the droids themselves weren't enough to avoid the gradual increase in damage from reflected shots. Eventually, one by one, all of them fell to the ground in ruins, leaving Dana to smile in a small, but nonetheless satisfied way.
She didn't leave the stance for another minute, being sure to check all of her surroundings while her guard was up.
When she did finally lower from it, Izan had caught sight and was hurriedly jogging over anyway.
"Figured you'd run into one of us again soon enough. Any trouble?"
Izan made a passing glance at his blaster pistol, then lightly clapped the now empty satchel that had contained what droidpoppers he had been given. "Ran into five getting here, no more than two at a time. Haven't noticed any mines though."
"Seeing as they only managed to blow up people who weren't their target I'm not surprised. I don't think that'll make Jayden feel any better though." After taking another cautionary look around the place, she switched her lightsaber off and returned it to her belt. "She went out of contact a while ago, same for the wonder couple as you so tastefully put it."
"I guess they can't have missed the droids for this long, even if they were going at it and didn't want to be disturbed or something."
"Charming as always, Izan."
While he stood there in shame, Dana drew her communicator back out. "Cecile, Izan's back on board, I think. Anything traceable from the others?"
"No attempts to make contact. All decoding systems are locked down as well, as per the childish insistence of Mistress Vass. I am simply not programmed to unscramble assassin droid communication signals."
"Childish isn't how I'd describe her..."
Dana glared rather fiercely at Izan for that unwanted quip. "Keep monitoring. We'll just have to listen out for blaster fire, or follow the next lot of droids. And make sure the ship is clear, okay?"
"As you say, Mistress Jedi Master Lauran."
Another eyeroll followed while Dana shoved the communicator away again. "I'm almost starting to miss the times when she had a crude vocalizer. Rattling off needless titles is starting to irritate me."
"She hasn't called me Pinkskin in a long while, so I'm not complaining. Lead the way."
The first blow gave Jayden a nasty wake-up call to just exactly what she was up against in fighting the armoured HK droid.
Her opening swipe clashed against the vibrostaff without so much as a tremor from her opponent. Sparks sprayed down between them from the result of the lightsaber failing to cut through the tough alloy of the staff itself, merely shearing off the very surface layer with every passing moment.
"Assertion: You have made a gross miscalculation in choosing this fight. Conclusion: You are a bug in the system."
"Says the giant piss-coloured laser-brain!"
She grunted when the droid shoved her back several steps with mechanical ferocity, though more at what she had just said than the force applied. "Okay, that one was bad even by Maarani's really low standards."
The second clash came with a fierce flurry of twirling strikes aimed to each of her limbs. While she was able to fend of each, they still succeeded in keeping her from rooting her position in.
"Observation: Your attempts at mockery are paralleled only by your fighting technique. Advisory: Do not seek assistance, you are beyond help."
They clashed again with another fierce shower of sparks. There was only so much Jayden could do to maintain balance with a single blade against a long staff, and the droid was readily exploiting that fact, as expected.
"Maybe we should both just shut up and get to having my ass kicked by a stinking droid of all things."
"Statement: I heartily agree. How wonderfully considerate of you."
The standoff broke abruptly, Jayden twisting her lightsaber around in preparation to block the next flurry.
Instead, the droid swung low, hooking the vibroblade past one of the armour plates in such a way that it was able to slice through the underlay and right into her leg.
Immediately she was forced to stumble back, but not before the searing feeling of the blade had cut through her thigh in a deep wound. Pain began to run through her body in fierce spasms, her controlled defence starting to crumble into more aggressive swings.
"Bad mistake upsetting a Mandalorian!"
With every moment, she felt herself slipping down that dangerous path, letting the wild nature of her pained attacks take over. Every blow against that staff failing to yield a result, adding on a layer of desperation as she sought to take back ground.
"Correction: The only mistake was waiting far too long to begin maiming your weak points!"
The head of the staff came around again, this time directed towards Jayden's elbow.
Desperation took hold in that moment, prompting her to duck down beneath the swing, and slam her lightsaber right into the main chassis of the droid.
As soon as it made contact, the two large radiators sprung up and began redirecting the accumulating heat out into blazing waves of energy so potent that the very air began to sway and hiss in its wake.
When she came up from that miscalculated swing, she put her helmet, and thus head, directly into the worst of the sudden blast of heat.
No amount of thermal insulation would have completely nullified the feeling of her head being encased in a sudden furnace. For all her strength, she couldn't keep from screaming as she dropped the lightsaber in a panic and clawed at her helmet, desperate to get it free of her searing skin.
It left her face bright red and pained, but not horrifically burned that time. Not like the mine that had taken her leg all those months ago.
The droid had backed off a bit by that point, basking in the display with programmed bemusement.
"Mocking Suggestion: Perhaps the pitiful Jedi should throw a tantrum while she is at it. I understand well enough how frustrating it can be to face an unbeatable opponent. Let out your anger, do whatever you feel is necessary. Surely striking down a droid in anger means nothing to your precious Jedi teachings."
After taking several heated breaths, trying to do anything to calm and recover herself from that harrowing brush with gruesome death, Jayden finally sighed and gestured to her lightsaber, waiting for the feeling of it thudding into her hand.
"I've fought worse than a droid. I've fought against lacking perception, I've fought against judgemental masters. I've fought to win the right to marry the one man I cared for. I am not going to fight the dark side because of one overpowered soulless lump of scrap metal.
"Amusement: You continue to display a level of intelligence and charisma that a bantha would scoff at and call low-brow. It truly warms the circuits of my humour subroutines to bear witness to your failure of mockery."
The droid advanced once more, twirling the staff at speed to build up momentum, until it came crashing down against Jayden's faltering block once again.
Without being able to utilize the full strength of the Force, she knew it was losing battle, especially with no sign of the others coming to her aid.
"Fine. I'll shut up. Not worth mincing words with you."
"Disgust: Please cease that awful organic habit of exchanging oral digestive fluids immediately!"
Once certain that they had come out of the mental link, Azera very cautiously lifted her hands back off Maarani's head and stepped away. More of the droids had begun to close in, though they had yet to get within point blank range.
Maarani wasn't as quick to respond, left a little dumbfounded by the whole thing while also having to work out just what she needed to do in order to make their plan happen.
"Caution: No more unauthorized actions are permitted. Especially not displays of gross affection."
"Yeah, I hate it when couples kiss in public too."
Azera nodded, though it was not in agreement. "For what it's worth, I don't regret it."
After a further moment's thought, Maarani nodded as well. The time was now. "I guess I don't regret it either. Fine, come take us away."
As soon as the first clunk of the droids stepping towards them echoed out, she closed her eyes.
Her memory had gone right back to that fateful day. Bruised, bleeding and terrified. Staring right at Kiarna, unable to put up even a miniscule challenge to the Sith'ari at the pinnacle of her power.
That rush of dark energy, when all mental inhibitions had failed, and finally her own conscious mind.
Falling back into herself, and feeling other powers take hold. Before the Lady of Sorrows, there was the Lady of Rage.
Four of the HK-50s surrounding them had closed to five metres of the pair when her eyes slowly began to open, unveiling that soft lavender hue that had taken over the rich blue they once were.
Her arms lowered down, causing some of the droids to ready their weapons and fire.
The two lightsabers on the ground began to vibrate in the dust where they had landed.
For the first time in a long while, Vahl blinked with mortal eyes.
"Now!"
Azera spun around on the spot to blast the two nearest droids with a devastating lightning strike from each fingertip, narrowly avoiding the first volley of shots directed towards her.
When the second came, she readied her posture to block them by hand as a precaution, before coming to realize that it was already being taken care of.
Every blaster shot was deflected away effortlessly as Maarani phased around Azera at incredible speed. Becoming properly visible for barely a second while blocking before reappearing at the next spot. Red lightsaber in her right hand, and purple in her left.
The raw power of the dark side being channeled through that tiny area brought forth a reinvigorating feeling for Azera. Not since Katarr had she come close to feeling the cold rush of energy that Kiarna had been practically dependant on for so long. But unlike her previous state, Azera had true control over her own nature.
A flick of her wrists caused the gloves covering her hands to launch free to the ground, right before she turned her palm upwards and tilted her head back, face turned to the sky as she began to draw upon the power radiating from Vahl's presence.
"May this be the day the Jedi learn their folly. The day that the dark side was used for defence of another, and not just for attack."
She inhaled until her lungs were filled, then clenched her teeth down. Her fingers began to claw in, small bolts of lightning arcing between them, growing in intensity and frequency by the second. Spreading along her arms, and soon her entire body, wreathing her in a net of primal Force lightning.
From the moment her feet left the ground, suspending her into the air, she felt power only rivalled by those few times she had been prompted to let loose altogether. Abundant, overwhelming, and so very intoxicating.
In the midst of it all, she had only a singular thought keeping her mind just shy of succumbing to that immense temptation. Focusing all that power into a single action. One that she finally unleashed with a shattering scream as lightning spewed from the whole area around them, centralized just metres above her.
Showers of sparks and fire flew as the HK-50s exploded in succession, each struck by devastating bolts of energy that destroyed their systems in a terrific manner. None even had the chance for a final robotic wail as their circuitry was turned to smouldering char, and anything tougher was reduced to corroded black metal.
When the last droid had finally fallen, Azera did as well.
It took a long minute for Maarani to come out of her own induced state, shuddering cold from the lingering presence of Vahl's fragment. And nearly ready to throw up from just how much dark energy had been shoved through her body without preparation.
Some time after finding the strength to stand, having dropped the lightsabers earlier, she finally spun around and nearly collapsed on Azera herself. Providence instead saw her dropping to her knees next to her, ideal for grasping at her arms and shaking her in the most pathetic means.
"Come on. I'm not carrying you back. And you're not kicking it after one admittedly spectacular lights show."
Given the fact that Azera had no eyes, it took a lot longer for it to become clear that she was still conscious, just incapable of doing more than lying there and trying to recuperate. When she did feel ready to try sitting back up at last, there was a notable grasp for support on Maarani's arm first.
"That would have been so much easier with the mask, and a few hundred people in pain nearby." On that note she gestured towards her mask, which flew right into her hand for her to place back on at last. "Tell me there aren't more coming."
"You're the one with omnipresent vision."
"Tee…"
After rolling her eyes, Maarani made a very quick visual sweep of their surroundings, and saw nothing but burnt out husks. "Can't be all that many out there to begin with. They're not meant to work as an army after all, right?"
"They're not meant to work autonomously either."
"Okay fine, in that case there's probably a whole lot more coming. Which means you should work on getting up!"
After a lot of shaky attempts from both, they finally managed to stand, only then releasing the tight hold that kept them balanced together.
"Tee, when we're clear of this place, let Dana know that she'll need to lead us through a meditation session."
Maarani twisted her lips out of concern. There was a fearful tone to Azera's voice, one that added to her own.
"I'm not sure what she's gonna say to that."
"She'll do it when she's brought up to speed, that's almost certain. You can't come within a breath of losing yourself to the dark side and just shrug it off. It needs a lot of effort to recover from."
Simply hiding it all from Dana was never a possibility for Maarani, but confronting her with the full truth was a daunting prospect in itself.
Nevertheless, it was a problem that had to wait for a more suitable time. "Fine. We've got some distance to cover for the next stop anyway. Right now we need to find the others though."
"Agreed." Another gesture towards their weapons saw each fly to their respective hands. "Reluctant as I am to do this, it seems I'll have to give up the decryption key for my mask's communicator to coordinate with that droid of yours. Assuming the others have had time to check in with it."
"Her, Az. And I'll go stand in the corner and put my hands over my ears if it makes you feel any better. Since I can't actually stick my fingers in them like most other humanoids…"
"I really don't want to think about where you can and cannot stick your fingers. And no that is not an excuse to bring back that crude joke of yours. Now if you please…"
Azera waited until Maarani had gone a suitable distance before reaching up to the edge of her mask and bringing up the link to the ship on broadcast.
"Droid, listen carefully while I-"
"Cecile!"
Azera tightened her lips. "Stop listening in." Only when she could very clearly tell Maarani had covered her ears did she continue. "Cecile, I'm about to issue you the command code that will give you access to my mask's decryption key. This will allow you to respond through the ship's relay. And since you obviously cannot respond before receiving it I will assume you are ready to record and input it now."
She issued off the long cipher in a hushed voice.
"I'll assume something went wrong if there is no response within thirty seconds."
"You know Az, I can just hear whatever comes out of your mouth thanks to the Force bond anyway…"
Beneath the mask, Azera began chewing on her lip in frustration, if only to keep herself from slapping her face in disgust at her own stupidity.
"Are you receiving this message, mass murdering consort of my Mistress?"
"Lady Azera is how you will address me! I am no longer a mass murderer, nor am I merely a consort!"
"Funny, that had a real Kiarna twang to it just now."
"My voice does not-!" After a few forced calming breaths, Azera opted to avoid further frustration by getting back on the move. "Cecile, we need to know where Dana and Jayden are located. The tracking system should be able to establish a direction to go in from the last point of contact, either one will do."
While she waited for Cecile to come through with that, she finally diverted some of her attention to Maarani once she had caught up.
"Lady Azera huh? I guess Lord Azera would sound more like you're insisting on being known as a Sith first. Unless it's some gender issue…"
"How many female Sith do you know that could be described as 'ladylike', hm?"
"Location of last contact with Mistress Jedi Master Dana Lauran is being fed through now, Lady Azera."
"Thank you Cecile. Being polite is more effective in gaining a Sith's favour than some might tell you."
She closed the link before her annoyance with the droid could get any worse, in spite of her supposedly pleased response. "Dana was roughly three hundred metres away, heading south-east. It's a start I suppose."
Maarani chose that moment to check the status of her blaster pistol. "Follow the trail of lightsaber sheared droids I guess. I wonder what's been keeping Jayden of all people busy this whole time."
A gash across Jayden's face from right cheekbone all the way down to just left of her chin joined the array of scars on her face, still dominated by the mottled patch that had resulted from the burn all those months previous.
In the years that she had longed for a legitimate challenge, she hadn't considered that the only being capable of it would ultimately be her killer as well. The fact that it was a droid was mere salt in the wound after that.
"Mockery: The great Mandalorian Jedi, brought to her knees, by a droid. What tales will they sing of this day? Why, perhaps something to the tune of 'The Tragedy of Jayden Mires, A Tale of Jedi Folly'."
Jayden spat out a bitter mix of her own blood and saliva. The thought of the others coming to her aid had faded altogether by that point, so lost in the heat of the duel she was. She didn't even have strength or will enough to make herself stand and face death on her feet.
"You… talk too much…"
"Statement: Perhaps. But at least the words I vocalize are meaningful, and have purpose. Yours do not. I will remember this battle fondly. But first..."
The droid abruptly swung its right leg and kicked her sharp in the chest, knocking her to the ground with a pained groan. Another kick left her exposed on the back, allowing the droid to bring that heavy, hydraulic powered foot pressing down on the base of her ribcage.
"Brutality: We have since learned from our predecessor that there is something to be said for taking pride and enjoyment in our bloody line of work. A sense of satisfaction, if you will."
Jayden could barely even hold a grip on that leg as it began pressing downward, meticulously squeezing the air out of her body, straining the skeleton of both her ribs and spine as the downward pressure increased. Eventually, her anguished scream was left faltering for the crushing force applied.
"Statement: Make no mistake, you have educated my circuits as to new means of inflicting pain on organics. I will ensure this experience is put to suitable use."
A blaster shot rang out from the courtyard beyond where Jayden had fallen, striking the droid centre mass before deflecting off to its right. Not quite enough to trigger the radiators.
It fulfilled Izan's intent nonetheless, drawing the droid's attention off brutalizing Jayden towards himself instead.
"Warning: That was a very foolish action, Zeltron."
"See? Even the murdering droids don't use racial slurs."
Dana sprung from her hiding place right through the doorway, grabbing Jayden's arm to sweep her out of the way before turning her blade on the droid with a slashing strike.
Unfortunately for them both, the droid stepped to continue facing her, bringing the angle on the radiators when they finally sprung up well out of Izan's line of fire.
A subsequent swipe of the nearest mechanical arm saw Dana flung across the room with a fierce gash to her right cheekbone, the skin already starting to welt from the impact. There was little time for her to recover before she found herself looking upward at the hulking droid.
"Izan!"
Another flurry of blaster shots went out, most from Izan's direction as he closed in further, some from the other doorway nearby.
From there came Maarani and Azera, the latter bolting in to hurtle herself across the room with a flaired spin, having drawn out both lightsabers to make a passing slash at the droid's head. Her landing put her right between the droid itself and where Jayden was clutching at her many wounds, ready to defend as best she could.
"Any plan!?"
"Threat: You will meet the same fate as that pitiful Mandalorian!"
Dana thrust herself back up to her feet, casting one hand towards Jayden's lightsaber while she readied the other to charge in again. "Hit it with as many blows as you can land Azera! Teegs, be ready to shoot!"
By then, Maarani was being kicked across the room, at the same time that Azera had to struggle against the vibrostaff being brought down at her left shoulder, the two lightsabers sizzling and whining against each other as well as the polearm itself.
As soon as Izan found a clear shot at the back of the droid's neck, he brought both blasters up, ready to hail as many shots as he could feasibly get off before being pummeled. "Azera get down!"
She narrowly managed to adjust her block in such a way that allowed her to slip to her left, directing the blow further away from Jayden's direction while also keeping herself clear of the radiators as they came out at full blast from Izan's attack.
Dana closed the distance in that time as well, striking for the leg in order to force the droid to step toward her a little more, exposing the one potential weakness to where Maarani was struggling to her feet.
"Shoot! Now!"
Still mildly dazed from the impact, she nevertheless fired off a trio of shots that scored directly into the blazing hot tubes that carried the coolant necessary for the armour to work. They still weren't quite as hot as the blaster shots themselves, weakening the metal just enough for hissing superheated coolant to begin spraying out from the left radiator.
The damage escalated matters for the droid, adjusting its balance to lash that leg back at Dana, who managed to avoid it that time, and also relinquishing the downward force on Azera's block to hurl her off balance.
Izan had used that time to awkwardly roll past Dana into a better position, firing off several more shots at the right radiator from his vulnerable position on the floor. More coolant began to spew out in the form of searing hot foam, too hot to settle back into proper liquid without the pressure of the tubing, but not capable of turning gaseous and poisoning them all thankfully.
That concern was far from the largest in any case. Even with the strikes no longer being entirely negated by the armor plating, it would take many to exhaust the coolant and finally cut through the vulnerable circuitry beneath.
Dana was still weaving around vicious swipes of that vibrostaff while considering that very problem, and coming up with the next stage on the fly. "Izan! Grab it's arm! Cut it Azera!"
After the next swipe, Izan practically threw himself at the droid, crashing against its back before lashing his arms around the droid's left, using the jacket as much as he could to protect himself from the hot metal. It was enough of a distraction for Azera to swerve in and drive the two lightsabers into the shoulder joint, gritting down hard at the screech as the droid struggled to throw Izan clear.
Maarani charged in for the right arm at that point, having to constantly wrestle near the threatening blade as it hummed away while pulling back against the hydraulic joints. Dana was quick to follow Azera's example, plunging the lightsabers against what was hopefully the weakest point in the droid's armour.
"Panic: Cease this! Cease this! Cease this!"
The struggle grew too much for Izan in the end, the droid finally getting a grip on his chest and thrusting him back out through the doorway with enough momentum to make him tumble over himself, straining several muscles in the neck.
Fortunately for them all it had delayed things long enough for Azera to cut through the armour at last, quickly dashing back as the now severed arm went flying across the room, spurting more of the coolant around while the circuitry sparked and fizzled away.
It left a vital gap in the armour for her to plunge her own lightsaber into, causing the droid to stumble down as Dana finally cut through the other shoulder, appropriately disarming it entirely.
"Defiant exclamation: This will not do! This will not-"
Both Azera and Dana were shoved aside as Jayden smashed her fist right into its face at last, sending it crashing down to the ground. In her maddened state, she ignored all the pain wracking her body, landing atop the chassis and bringing blow after blow to the head of the HK leader at long last.
Six blows saw the resin casing begin to crack. Eight saw bits of it break off entirely. Twelve began to dent the metal. Nineteen brought with it the sound of metal and circuitry alike snapping under pressure.
After twenty three blows, Jayden finally stopped, heaving breaths through her bruised body while she glared down at the defeated droid in raw fury.
"Sys… systems failing… mm… maaaa… ster."
As soon as it was over, Jayden slid over to the right and collapsed, and cried out in anguish once again.
Azera immediately rushed to her side, the gloves coming off while the lightsabers rolled out along the floor nearby. "Jayden! Face and where else? I need to know!"
The compilation of all the wounds through her body kept her from getting out more than further pained yells.
"Face first then. Dana, get her armour off in case there's internal injuries."
While Dana moved in to do just that, Maarani slowly strode over to where Izan was still sprawled in the doorway, and stretched her hand out to him.
"Thanks for not bailing on us."
He looked between the hand and Maarani's face for a few seconds, then reluctantly took hold of it. There was still some pain in his neck from the fall, and being hurled around in general, but he was at least capable of standing.
"Who'd think two Jedi and a Sith would still need someone to watch their backs?"
In the midst of that battle, Maarani managed a smile, and even a shrug, nonchalantly swinging her blaster pistol around.
"Izan, if you went out on your own, with some new crew, who the hell would be there to watch your back? After all we've been through I-"
A heavy blaster shot rang out from behind Maarani. Before she could react, it punched right through the palm of her right hand, narrowly missing Izan as it flew past.
The pistol dropped from her hand as she lifted it up, looked through the smouldering hole in it, and screamed in utter agony.
At the very moment she dropped to her knees, Izan brought both blasters right back up and fired until the HK-50 responsible for that shot went down, immediately rushing to check for more.
By then, Azera had rushed from Jayden's side to attend to Maarani's own catastrophic injury. The gash to her face had been closed, but all concern for further injuries had been pushed aside by the sight of such a devastating wound. It wasn't helped at all by the fierce shaking of Maarani herself while she was overwhelmed by agony.
"Keep you hand still! You hear me!? Keep it still or I can't fix this!"
The notion left Dana rather frantic herself as she continued to free Jayden of her armour pieces, only just having fully noticed how deep her leg wound was. Two of them in serious need of attention, and only one healer between them.
"Izan! I need help carrying Jayden!"
The exchange of blaster shots with yet more approaching droids was all the response she needed.
Maarani's screaming had dropped down to pained cries at least, finding what focus she could in concentrating on Azera's hands tightly pressed around her own.
"Real good thing you've got Vahla blood. I can't regenerate bone, but cartilage is another matter. Just don't push on your palm too much after this is over."
When the pain had eased enough, she motioned with her head for Maarani to stand, keeping her hands clasped to continue the healing process. "Dana, I'll attend to Jayden as soon as we're on board. There's a gunner station on the second level, two doors down the left. Izan has to help Maarani fly, and there's every chance we'll run into the droid's ship before we escape."
"Love to, but there's going to be two hands between the five of us against however many droids are out there!"
"Three…" The pain had eased further from Maarani's hand, enough for her to feel lucid again. "Just get me my blaster and…"
It only took a brief glance over at her pistol to see that it was completely ruined, now no more than a lump of contorted metal.
"Use Izan's. Now come on, we need to move!"
Dana very hastily set Jayden's armour across her own shoulders, and placed the other three lightsabers on her belt before getting an arm around Jayden's back to hoist her up. Once Izan fell back from the doorway to help at last, handing Maarani one of his blasters, they both coordinated that final push to stand at last. Even between the two of them she was still quite heavy, but they had little choice in how to carry her back to the ship.
"Alright, let's go!"
With only two blasters and a lightsaber for ready weapons, the crew of the Vastes set out on that perilous journey. Azera and Maarani led the way, having to awkwardly keep pace so that the former's hands wouldn't slip, braving the danger of yet more droids coming out from behind and gunning them down.
Those that did show up along the way fell soon enough, desperation driving them all on without pause towards the sanctuary of the Vastes. It did indeed appear that they had managed to exhaust a large portion of the HK-50 ground forces by that stage.
The sight of the ship itself brought with it a unanimous feeling of relief. As soon as Azera and Maarani had clambered up the ramp, they very nearly collapsed from exhaustion, instead finding the nearest clear wall to lean against.
"Okay, I think it should be stable for now. Just don't flex this hand or do anything with it until I've had a proper look at it. Co-pilot with just the left if you have to."
"Whatever you say."
While Azera very cautiously lifted her hands off Maarani's palm, the others clambered up the ramp behind them at last. With a nod to Izan, she carefully took his place in keeping Jayden supported the rest of the walk to the medical bay.
Despite being even more worn out, Izan still remained vigilant in preparing for a hasty launch, bringing the ramp up while motioning to Maarani. "Hey, how's the hand."
"I can't feel any of my fingers, and my thumb hurts like hell. Then again it could be skin and nothing else for all I know." The fact that she now had a massive circular scar on both sides of her hand didn't help trying to not look at it, in that there was a noticeable ring where the pristine blue skin that had been newly regenerated met the rest of her pilot-weathered hand.
At the very least, she wasn't screaming in pain. "Think you can pilot this ship in battle conditions, Izan?"
"Battle conditions? I suppose."
"All you need to do is not crash into that destroyer when we fly by and blast all its weaponry to pieces. No suicide skimming or whatnot to worry about."
"Yeah that already sounds so much better, considering we're taking on a destroyer with a dentist's luxury yacht."
After rolling her eyes, Maarani finally nodded her head over to the stairway up through the ship for him to follow.
Within a minute they had reached the cockpit, Izan taking up the pilot's seat while Maarani worked out a place to keep her right arm held against.
"Skip the flight check and whatnot, just get us off the ground. And if we don't see that destroyer before leaving the atmosphere, book it to clear space."
Despite the inherent risks, Izan did just that, getting right to ascent thrusters and preparing for escape trajectory. Fortunately for them all, there was no unforeseen complication as a result, allowing the Vastes to cruise up through the atmosphere uninterrupted.
And right into the path of the HK-50's commandeered Republic destroyer.
"Dana, you ready? Fire everything you've got at their main artillery array."
"I see it, five thousand metres to firing range."
The distance closed fast, many of the secondary batteries opening up on the Vastes while it hurtled towards the ship. Unlike the Distant Star however, it was more than capable of holding up against such a barrage, at least for as long as they needed in order to execute their plan.
Tension ran high for Maarani especially, barely able to do anything but make secondary adjustments to their course, all while waiting for that moment of reckoning to come.
"In range! Now Dana!"
A barrage of blaster fire poured from the turret on the starboard side, raining down on the artillery piece until it blew out in a spectacular display, quickly chaining down the line of guns that ran nearly the whole length of the ship.
With their enemy severely crippled, all that remained was to establish that zero destination course, and finally jump away from Dalchon altogether.
Nearly eighteen hours passed before Dana finally made her way up to the cockpit.
Maarani had remained there the entire time since their escape, having fallen asleep in her chair after fearing that returning to her quarters, and more specifically bed, would inevitably lead to screwing her hand over in some way.
Having taken the opportunity to sleep as well, Dana herself was far more careful when she carefully walked over and touched the Twi'lek's shoulder. "Teegs? You okay?"
For once, Maarani's moment of waking was very quiet indeed, no more than simply opening her eyes, and slowly lifting her head up.
The first thing she noticed was the restoration of feeling in her hand. And more importantly, the ability to move her fingers again.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Guess Azera came and did the rest at some point." Her next thought was to check on Jayden, though a great deal of lethargy remained in her limbs at that point. And if things had taken a turn for the worse, Dana would have indicated as much by then.
"She told me about how the two of you defeated the droids, after you were already asleep. I'll admit, she had quite a different attitude about the whole matter than what I had expected."
Maarani just nodded slightly. "It was terrifying. The other times, I wasn't ever in control. I was just being used, or manipulated, or whatever." She turned her head a little more to meet Dana's eyes. "Actually choosing to tap into Vahl's power, it was something else. I understand why you were so scared of me choosing to go dark back on Sloane's ship now."
Though it took a lot of effort on her part, Dana made a small smile. "I guess that's another little flaw in Jedi teachings. Fear of the dark side leads to avoiding it at all costs, which makes falling to its will so much easier when it comes."
"Sometimes, you have to build up immunity to a poison over time, through gradual experience. Can't always avoid it, right?"
Dana tilted her head.
The resurfacing of a bitter memory made Maarani wince, but the relevance kept her from pushing it aside altogether. "Something Zariba told me about herself one time. I guess I really needed to know what it's like to give into pure rage, before assuming I could stay in control as a Dark Sith. Even Azera believes she can't handle the dark side anymore. It's not for me."
"We've all learned a lot of important lessons today, Teegs. We can contemplate and discuss them as a group once we've had a chance to settle down from all this, alright?"
Maarani nodded a bit more actively, that time with a smile of her own. Afterwards she began to sit up, taking a moment to rub around the ring scar on the back of her hand, then set about the controls for herself at long last.
"There's something I want to take care of before we meditate together. Good thing is, it's on a planet that is probably the ideal place to find focus in the Force. And I really wish we had gone there when I brought it up months ago."
"Oh?"
"It's time I get to visit Felucia."
