Chapter 17: Loose End
"Jas? What is going on back there? Jas?"
Jas Dar Bynn cursed under his breath.
They didn't have time!
"LOCK IT DOWN!" he screamed into his comlink, "Coop, it's Alric; you have to lock down the escape pods, do it now. DO IT NOW!"
"The pods? I don't understand? Why…?"
"JUST DO IT! FAST!"
"Where are we going?" Val shouted, her panic shone like a beacon through the Force, she had it under control, but the look in her eyes told the tale.
"Which way?" she demanded.
"Which way?!"
He pointed to a walkway leading up, taking them back across the cargo bay.
The Security Chief took off like a blaster bolt, moving far faster than most humans could manage.
Still…Jas feared it would not be enough.
He could hear the little girl screaming. It was more than enough to keep him going, but…he feared it would still be too late.
Damn it, we are going to slow, he thought angrily.
They're going to get away!
The Coop's Folly had four escape pods on its top deck, pods that automatically prepped for launch if there was any power issue or systems failure with the ship. It was a safety function that Randa Halcyon had built in when she had rebuilt the freighter.
It was one of only two ways off the Folly during flight; the second way was the shuttle that was just above the engine compartment. A shuttle that was currently non-functional, its engines and hyperdrive had not been installed yet. Randa had meant to get it up and running with the funds they had made from this run.
Lucky us; thought Jas, which left only the pods, which were up and running.
If Alric made it to one with Vess…?
No, he would not make it.
They would not let him.
"Main power is still offline, Jas," Coop said over the comlink, I can't trigger the lockdown until it is restored. What's Shusk's status? Can he help us?"
"He already is," Jas said, "I got him up and working, he should have power restored in a few minutes. We're going to need it."
Jas frowned.
"Coop, I think Alric might have used our comm system to send a message. I think the jamming field he set up might be just another beacon. We're likely going to have company real soon."
"You sure?" Coop asked.
"It is the only thing that makes sense."
Jas hated to think like that, but he suspected that it was true.
It was the only thing that made sense. They were literally in the middle of nowhere, taking an escape pod made no sense, unless you had a ship waiting to take you away.
Coop cursed loudly, Jas could hear him shouting orders to Tessa and Figgy on the bridge.
Not good, Jas thought.
Not good at all.
"It's all my fault," Val muttered, "If I hadn't…"
"Blame yourself later," Jas advised, "Right now we have to worry about Vess."
The woman nodded grimly,
They…
"DUCK!"
Jas felt the Force shift…a warning.
Too late.
He found himself yanked backward.
TINK! TINK! TINK!
He had not seen the boy hiding in the shadows, his hand tightly around Vess' mouth.
Alric's dart launcher spat at them, poison tipped projectiles struck the bulk head, mere millimeters from where Jas' head had been seconds earlier
"Damn," Jas gasped.
Val had pulled him back got him to safety just in time.
Realizing he had missed the boy dragged his hostage on. Vess was able to get his hand away from her mouth and screamed anew.
"VAL HELP!" VAAAAAAAL!"
Jas found himself eye to eye with Char Valenthyne. The woman had grabbed him at the last minute, pulled him back, out of the line of fire.
They had spun around and were now in each other's arms.
He found himself staring into the woman's bright green eyes, they almost seemed to glow in the dim emergency lights; her breath was warm on his face.
Despite the danger of the situation he felt his cheeks warm, he…he had rarely been this close to a woman.
She was breathing hard, their noses were almost touching.
"Are you okay," she asked, "Were you hit?"
"No," Jas said quickly, "They missed."
"Good," she said pushing him back.
It was at that moment that they heard Vess scream again.
"STOP! PLEASE! LEMME GO! PLEASE! LEMME GO!"
The two did not hesitate.
"We got to move," they said in unison.
They split apart and resumed their pursuit following the girl's screams. They were still moving quickly, but caution had slowed them quite a bit.
Who knew what tricks Alric had up his sleeve?
Jas cursed again.
"Damn it," he growled.
They had suspected that they had a traitor on board.
He should have known.
He should have guessed.
His comlink crackled.
"Cap'n, its Shusk."
"I read you Shusk," Coop responded, "Glad to hear your voice, you okay?"
"I'll need to see a medical droid when this is over, but right now…I'm fine. Jas did something to me, got me back in the game."
Jas did not bother to clarify, now was not the time.
Shusk had a concussion, and who knew what else. Jas had used the Force to lessen the effects of the Chandra Fan's injuries. It would wear off in a few hours, but for now the little engineer's head was clear, his reactions sharp.
He would need that if they were going to get out of here.
"Talk to me," Coop said to him, "Give me good news."
"I've reconnected the reactor," Shusk informed him, "the feedback from the comm system was isolated in the secondary systems. You should have engines and hyperdrive in a few minutes."
""We don't have a few minutes," Jas said jumping in on the conversation, "Alric has Vess and he is heading for the escape pods, we have to lock them down!"
"I'll see if I can hurry the power up," the engineer said, "In the meantime, don't let the Hutt spawn get away."
"Keep him on this ship!"
Jas shook his head.
That was easier said than done.
They could see the emergency lights flashing up ahead. A low recorded voice came over the loud speaker, informing them to make for the nearest escape pod.
Jas again felt a disturbance in the Force.
He put up his hand, stopping Val's advance, before she could speak, ask him what was wrong, he was moving. He was pushing the woman against the bulkhead.
Blaster fire rang out, the shots were wild, unfocused, but enough to bring the two to a stop.
Vess screamed again.
"Don't hurt them! Please!"
"Shut up you little..."
More blaster fire, Alric was keeping them back, even as wild as they were, in such close quarters, he did not need to aim all that much.
Jas' eyes narrowed.
They had no more time for games.
This ends now.
SNAP-HISS!
Jas ignited his lightsaber, the darkened corridor filled with violet light. He brought the blade up, holding it in a classic Shien guard. He would be able to parry any shots, but in such close quarter it would be dangerous, he would not be able to control where the ricochet went.
He had no desire to hurt Vess, if she got caught in the crossfire?
"Damn it," Jas hissed under his breath.
Damn it all to hell!
He could just make out Alric; the young man had his arm around Vess' throat, pulling her back, pulling her towards one of the escape pods. His face was slick with sweat, his eyes wild and angry.
He was trying to reach the control panel for the nearest pod, he was almost there, but Vess' struggles kept him back.
He had not managed to reach it…yet, praise the Force, but even though the girl's struggles had slowed him, it would not be long.
They needed to slow him down.
They needed to distract him.
"ALRIC! STOP!" Val shouted angrily, she brought up her blaster, training on her subordinate's, former subordinate's, face.
Val's gaze was cold as ice, her blaster did not waver.
"Don't you take another step," she called out, "that is a direct order!"
The boy's response was not one that Val likely wanted to hear.
He laughed.
"I don't take orders from you, Chief. I never truly did!"
"Alric…stop," Vess coughed, "You…you're hurting me!"
Hearing the girl's voice almost made Jas and Val leap out and rush the boy. Alric's blaster remained pointed towards them, and all the while his arm remained tightly wrapped around Vess' neck.
If they were not careful, he might strangle the poor girl.
Not going to happen, Jas thought.
It. Will. Not.
"How could you do this," Val demanded, "You were training to be a sworn protector! How could you even think of betraying your brothers and sisters?"
"You think I want to end up like you, Chief? You think I want to let some doctor strip away all my hopes and dreams? You think I want to spend my life programmed like some off-worlder machine?"
"It is the job we agreed to do, to serve our lords and ladies, to serve the laws of Bantoon," she replied, "There is no shame in it."
"The law," he spat, "I can't believe the daughter of Chin and Tara Valenthyne is lecturing me about the law."
Jas did not know what the boy was talking about, but from the look on the Security Chief's face she did.
Val's eyes narrowed.
"Leave them out of this!"
Why should I? You're the one betraying their memory, and you couldn't even get that right."
Alric snarled like an angry beast.
"This isn't right," the boy spat angrily, "This isn't the way it was supposed to be."
"And just how was it supposed to be, traitor?" Val demanded.
If he took exception to Val calling him a traitor he did not show it.
In fact, it sounded like he had not heard her at all.
"Queen Adira and High General Lyron will reward me well for my work here," he said, "Annara had to be silenced, she was threatening the progress of our world, she…"
The boy cursed.
"Stop struggling you little wretch," he snarled.
Jas heard the sound of the girl choking, gasping for breath.
He almost leapt forward, in that moment all he wanted was to throttle the boy.
The scum, Jas thought, the low life scum!
He deserved to suffer.
At the back of his mind he could feel it, the shadow, oily and hungry.
He could feel its gentle touch, the lightest of caresses.
You need power, it seemed to say, give in…
Give in and you will have all the power you could ever need.
Jas swallowed hard, it was tempting, more than tempting.
He glanced over at Val, wondering what he should do, all he had to do was let go and Alric would die screaming, they could save Vess, and…
All it took was one look at the Security Chief; all it took was the briefest of touches through the Force.
Char Valenthyne did not need the darkness to accomplish her goal; she had her training and her skill.
It was her bravery, her cold competency that helped him resist, helped him push both his anger and the darkness back.
Finally, he was back in control.
In that moment, Jas felt ashamed, how easy he had been tempted.
He was grateful that Val had not seen that. All of her focus was on Alric.
They needed to stop the boy, now.
Val took a deep breath. Jas could feel her worry and anger, but she had it clamped down, held in check by her iron will.
He envied her a bit in that moment.
If only he had such control.
He tried not to think about it, to stay on mission, for all their sakes.
He could not afford to let himself get distracted.
He needed to do this for Vess.
Val dared a quick peek out, seeing her subordinate, and the young queen she had sworn to protect.
She gave him an evil glare, if looks could kill, the boy would have been nothing but a pile of ash.
"I'm guessing that the men assigned to watch you and Vess when you were at the Academy didn't die on accident did they?"
Her frowned deepened.
"Damn you boy," she said, "Damn you."
Alric snorted.
"They were my first real kill," he said with a hint of pride, "Unfortunate, but necessary. The instructors that administer the system would have been proud."
Val sneered; she had not meant to inspire pride in the boy. Two of her friends had died.
She would likely have wished to avenge them, but would not risk it as long as her queen was in danger.
"And Lord Rudo," she continued, "I'm guessing that it was not blind luck that he found our safe house near the spaceport?"
"The man was a fool," Alric responded, "All he had to do was take us into custody. I got Vess out of the safe house and into the open for him…"
The boy shook his head.
"He played his part too well. If the fool hadn't hit me, I would have made sure that Vess wouldn't have had a chance to escape; we never would have gotten out of that alley. You should have returned too late."
He hissed angrily.
"This is all your fault, Jedi," he growled, "Why did you have to stick your nose where it wasn't wanted! This should have been over and days ago."
"And what about your queen, Alric," Jas asked, "Vess' mother, did you not swear an oath to serve her? Isn't that what a sworn protector is supposed to do?"
Yeah," Val added, "How much is a sworn protector worth these days? How much did it cost to buy you away from your duty?"
The boy laughed again.
"I wouldn't have been able to, not if I had a chance to go through the system, isn't that right Val?"
"We should never have allowed you close to Vess," she hissed back, "Never."
"Your failure," he said with a sneer, "Not mine."
"Didn't you choose to become a protector," Jas asked, once again trying to keep him talking, to make him forget about running.
"I never had much of a choice," he answered, "What is a third born son to do? I would never inherit my family's fortune. My sisters and their husbands would see to that.
The bitterness and anger radiated off of the boy, he probably had thought this the only way to get out of the choice he had made.
So very foolish, Jas thought.
He threw away any chance he had at a future. He simply had not realized it yet.
"I needed something for me," Alric continued, "I needed a title of my own, and once I deliver Vess, I'll have it."
Jas frowned, he was shocked that he had not sensed the greed and arrogance in the boy, but then again, he had had other things on his mind.
Vess had distracted him, or rather, her destiny had.
The girl might not realize it now, but one day, her future would shine bright enough to even eclipse a star, her potential, it was near limitless.
Provided she survived the next few moments of course.
Speaking of which…
"How the power looking Shusk," he heard Coop say over the comlink, "We need to get out of here."
"I'm working on it captain, I need more time."
Jas glanced across his blade at Alric; again the boy was starting to move towards the escape pods again.
I've got to keep him talking, he realized, give Shusk a chance to finish.
Vess' life depends on it.
"All this for a title," Jas asked, "Betrayed your duty, helped murder your leaders, all so that you could have some title before your name?"
Jas took a step forward.
"Not another step, Jedi," Alric warned, his blaster now pressed to Vess' temple, the little girl whimpered as her captor smiled.
Jas stopped, not wanting to provoke, but at the same time to make sure that the boy stayed exactly where he was.
Come on, Shusk, he thought.
Hurry up!
"I know how good you are with that sword," Alric growled, "Let's not do something we will both regret, huh?"
The boy shook his head.
"It is not simply about a title. I wanted a life. I wanted to be more than some noble's shield."
Val hissed; she kept her blaster raised and pointed at her target.
"A protector's life is an honorable one," she said, "Sacrifice, duty, courage; don't those mean anything to you?
"Oh Chief," the boy chuckled, "How little you know, how little you understand."
He shook his head.
"Do you even remember who you were before the system? Don't you know what you gave up to become what you are now?"
"It was my choice."
"Are you certain of that? How much do you remember of your time training to become a protector? The system takes away so much, I'm guessing that you don't even remember making the choice, only that your instructors told you that you did."
He sneered at her.
"Look at you, the great Char Valenthyne. If it wasn't for this Jedi interfering you would be dead right now. You would have shot yourself like a good little slave when you realized your queen was dead."
The boy tightened his grip around Vess' neck, making her gasp.
"YOU SHOULDN"T EVEN BE HERE!" he snarled, "You should be dead, and I should be back home right now being hailed as a hero by the new queen and her husband, but no, this whole plan has been one annoyance after another, but finally…finally; things are working out. I'm finally going to get what I deserve. What I was promised."
Alric sighed, anger radiated off him like heat from a star.
"I'm so tired of this game, Chief. It is time for me to end it."
"There is nowhere to go," Jas said glaring at the boy from behind his blade.
"You're trapped here."
"My ride is on the way," he answered. "I have to admit, the comm relay on this ship is quite good, close to top of the line."
He laughed coldly.
"I can see why your captain is so proud of it."
Val raised her blaster, centering on Alric's face, he pulled Vess' closer to him, using her as a shield.
"You're not leaving," she growled.
"YOU. ARE. NOT."
Alric took a step back, his grip on Vess never loosening.
He glared at his former superior.
"This is the way it's going to work, chief," he began, "Vess and I are leaving; the ship that is coming is going to pick us up and take us back to Bantoon.
"You are not going to try and stop it. You are not going to do anything against the crown. The Matriarchy has likely already voted Queen Adira the lady protector of the princess by now. If you cause the crown any trouble then this little girl will suffer. You will go into exile like a good soldier, if you don't Vess will suffer. Behave yourself and you just might be invited to come home one day, but if the new queen hears even a whisper of you hatching plots, of speaking out against the new regime, Vess will suffer."
Val growled, her blaster did not move, but Jas could see her struggling, wanting so bad to take the shot but fearing for the girl's safety.
Jas thought of trying a mind trick on him, but when he reached out with the Force all he felt was cold determination from the boy, determination and anger.
Jas frowned.
The Force would not aid him, not here.
Alric laughed again.
"Now if you will both excuse me, I have a hero's welcome waiting back home. Do try to have a good day now."
He started to back up again, dragging Vess behind him.
They were out of time.
Violence and the Force would not work, but that did not mean that Jas was helpless.
He still had his voice, and that could be a potent weapon if used correctly.
In that moment, he knew exactly what to say.
He just hoped the boy would listen.
"A hero's welcome," he scoffed, "Unlikely, boy, very unlikely."
Jas lowered his lightsaber, he switched off the blade.
"You leave this ship, your dead. That is the only reward you will get."
Alric stopped; he glared at Jas and Val.
"You know nothing, Jedi," he hissed, "I'm going to have everything that I was promised."
Jas shook his head.
"Oh I'm sure they promised you a lot, anything that you could dream of, provided you gave them what they want."
Jas sighed.
"It is all bantha poodoo of course."
He looked over at Val.
"You know a thing or two about Bantoon politics don't you, chief? Tell me, what happens when a coup is finished, when the new regime is fully in place. What happens to all those hired hands that helped bring it into fruition, what is their final reward?"
Val did not lower her blaster, but she did smile.
Good girl, Jas thought.
She had picked up on what he had in mind.
Now they just had to sell the story.
"The final reward to such people is death, Not a Jedi," she said dryly, "Such people are dangerous, they are loose ends that know far too much about what really happened, and where all the bodies are buried."
Val's smile turned nasty.
"You're not the hero in this story, Alric; you are just a loose end, a big one.
"Lord Lyron would not hesitate to silence you."
"Liar," the boy spat back, "I'm a member of the royal family!"
"So was the queen," Val reminded him, "So is Vess, you think that the new High General will want Vess around? Sure she could legitimize his rule, he could play the good lord protector, but that would be too risky. If Vess ever escaped, she would be a threat to his crown, and when she finally comes of age, she will be an even bigger threat."
Val shook her head.
"If there is a ship coming it will not be to rescue you. It will be to kill you and Vess, to take care of two very big loose ends."
Alric had stopped, he still had his blaster pointed at Vess, but his grip had loosened, Vess' face was not as red as it had been a few moments before.
Alric swallowed hard.
Jas could feel his emotions, he was thinking about what he had been told, he did not wish to, but he was thinking about what she said.
The boy was not stupid, at least not THAT stupid.
He could see what Val was getting at.
"General Lyron would not do that to me," he insisted, "I'm one of Queen Adira's favorites. He wouldn't dare."
"I doubt he will even tell her," Jas said dismissively, "He will likely say that you died on the same ship as Vess and her mother, it will all be very sad, I'm sure."
"Very sad," Val added, "But in the end it will open up so many doors, with Vess gone, any children born of Lyron and Adira will be the heirs to the throne. They would not risk those heirs by keeping a traitorous noble around them."
Val sneered at him.
"You played your part well, Alric, too well.
"Now it is time to get rid of you."
"No," Alric said shaking his head, "No…you are lying. You are trying to trick me."
"We're offering you a chance to live," Jas informed him, "Let the girl go, and I promise here and now that we will drop you off on some nice populated planet; the kind of place that you can build a new life for yourself. Trust me, boy, there is not thing waiting for you back on Bantoon but death."
"Listen to him, Alric," Val said, "You know that he is right. You know how this is going to end."
Alric was sweating buckets now, he still had Vess in his grip, but she was no longer crying out, no longer struggling to breathe.
The boy looked like he was in shock.
"This can't be," he said, "I did everything they asked. I'm…I'm a hero. They are going to make me a lord."
"Last chance, boy," Jas said, "Let Vess go and drop your blaster."
Alric looked back and forth, Jas had lowered his lightsaber, but Val still had her blaster pointed.
"I'm a hero," Alric repeated, "They can't do this. They…"
Something hummed overhead, the emergency lights shut off as main lights switched back on.
Shusk had managed to restore main power, and then…
…all hell broke loose!
Vess bit Alric; she sank her teeth deep into his hand.
The boy cried out as he lost his grip
"YOOOOU LITTLE! I'LL…"
He never got the chance to finish.
Vess kneed him between the legs…HARD!
He gasped and staggered back.
"FOR MY MOTHER!" the girl shouted.
Gurgling, barely able to stand up, Alric raised his blaster.
Jas moved.
He ignited his blade.
He reached out with the Force.
As he pulled Vess behind him, he yanked the blaster from the boy's hand.
His lightsaber caught the weapon, slicing it in two.
PEW!
PEW!
Val's blaster fired.
A bolt caught Alric in the shoulder, spinning him around, he somehow managed to stay on his feet and stagger into the control panel of the escape pods.
The door to one hissed open.
The boy fell inside.
"NOOOO!" Val screamed.
"DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!"
Jas tried to stop him, but it was too late, the door to the pod slid shut, but not before the boy's final words rang out.
"I'll come back for you, Val," he shouted, "This isn't over!"
The pod hissed as the door sealed. A loud bang could be heard from the other side, the release jets firing.
Jas ran to the window in time to see the pod fly away.
Jas Dar Bynn took a deep breath.
It was over.
He turned around to see Val hugging Vess, the little girl was sobbing in her arms.
"Is he okay," he asked, "Did he hurt her?"
Vess stepped away from her protector, she met Jas' gaze with her teary blue eyes.
"Mister Jas," she sobbed and ran to him, wrapping her skinny arms around his waist.
Jas stood still, not sure what to do.
He just let her hug him, it did no harm.
"It…um…it is okay, kid," he said, "You're safe now."
She stepped away, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Thank you," she said, "God's bless you, both of you."
"Jas, this is Cooper, please respond?"
Jas picked up his comlink.
"Jas here, go ahead, captain?"
"We detected a pod launch, is Vess?"
"She is still here, Alric took the pod. Maybe we can tractor it in, bring it back.
"No can do, old buddy," Coop said, "We got company."
Jas lead the way, Vess and Val followed in his wake.
He was sure he knew what ship had caught up with them.
He just hoped that they still had time to escape.
They were not out of this yet.
IOI
They arrived on the bridge in time to see the Scorekeeper's Mark approaching, the hammerhead class corvette was moving quickly, on an intercept vector.
Jas frowned as he saw the maneuvering thrusters of an escape pod in the distance.
Alric heading for what he thought was his rescue.
Poor fool, Jas thought.
Poor, dumb fool.
Coop stared at the approaching ship, preparing to bring them about.
"Figgy do we have an escape route, yet?" he asked.
"Coming through now, captain," the Bit promised, "We will be go for light speed in twenty seconds."
Tessa looked up from her console. She glared at the retreating escape pod.
"I can't believe that little murglak is going to get away with this," she hissed.
Jas shook his head.
"Don't worry," he said.
"He won't."
As they watched, the Scorekeeper's Mark turned slightly, directing its nose at the approaching pod.
The corvette's forward batteries fired.
The pod was hit and began to spin.
Two more shots and it was over.
The pod vanished in a flash of light and wreckage.
Jas winced, he had felt Alric's final moments through the Force; a mixture of betrayal, anger and fear.
Val sneered as she watched the pod vanish.
"There is your reward, traitor," she spat.
"Enjoy it."
"What was that?" Figgy asked.
Jas turned, giving the Bith a sad look.
"A loose end being tied up, Figgy," he said, "Nothing more."
"We can't do anything for him now," Coop said checking his instruments and bringing the Folly about.
The pod was gone, and now the Mark was closing in on them.
They did not have much time.
"Are we ready to get out of here?" Coop asked.
Figgy nodded.
"Light speed in three, two one…"
Coop pulled the handle.
The stars stretched as the Coop's Folly make the jump into hyperspace, and just like that…
They were gone.
Safe.
It was over.