Chapter Seventeen

Upper City Walkway

Riko had never walked on a world like Taris. Even Señalar un lacked the skyscrapers he beheld wherever he looked. Atarashi'ie was sparsely populated, almost uninhabited, save for the Jedi. As a result, Riko had never seen anything close to resembling Taris. Everything seemed to blend into one giant mess of permacrete and transparisteel. He could barely piece the walkway he and his companions were walking on, or the occasional civilian that passed them. Riko supposed that they had the luck to crash in a largely unpopulated region of the city.

"This place reminds me of home," Jade stated. Riko didn't know what to think. If Taris—which at least had oceans, overwhelmed him—he wouldn't be prepared to set foot on a planet that was 100% towers and buildings.

"Never been there," Riko replied, "What's it like?"

"I don't think I'd have liked Coruscant before the Yuuzhan Vong tried to terraform it. But now…" Jade's voice trailed off. Riko could see Jade smile as she walked. Riko could tell she was recalling a pleasant memory.

After a few more moments, she spoke, "I think I like the diversity the most. So many different species. I also liked how there is still Yuuzhan Vong wildlife here and there. There was this one building near the Imperial Palace, where Mom and I lived, it had a partially biological exterior, like it was growing a weird, greenish skin. I named it 'The Cyborg Building.' "

Riko smiled. Bao and Harkaq grinned. Riko was sure he had heard Kara giggle. Thalia did smile, but Riko had a feeling it was forced. "Jade tended to ignore names when it came to buildings, lakes, or any landmark," Thalia added, "I had to keep a list to cross-reference everything."

"I not have to," Niner said, "I could add it to my memory banks."

Riko heard Bao laugh. He turned around and saw the Trandoshan sissing.

"Personally, I enjoy the cooking on Coruscant," Harkaq contributed, "So many different restaurants. So many different foods."

"I always had a taste for Acid-beet salad," Jade responded, "There's a field in the Manari craters, someone turned it into an organic farm..."

"Oh, I love acid-beets!" Riko jumped in, "My dad always added punctil."

"Punctil?" Harkaq repeated, "Try Celto, it's much better, and nutritious..."

The conversation continued, and when Riko eventually drifted after he had nothing left to contribute, he realized that right now, no one saw them as Jedi or Imperial Knights.

All of them, with the exception of Thalia, who wore a hooded cloak, were dressed as ordinary civilians. Riko had a hooded azure jacket, dark brown cargo pants, and running boots, his lightsaber concealed in a small backpack he wore, in the slot normally reserved for his water bottle. Jade's coat was tied around her waist, she wore a dark short-sleeved shirt underneath. Bao wore a flightsuit, Harkaq a vest, and Kara…

Riko knew he shouldn't judge people by stereotypes, but Twi'lek women had a reputation for wearing tight, revealing, provocative outfits. Kara had the modesty of an Adherent Jedi Master.

To any bystanders, they were all just ordinary people, just talking. And for one moment, they had been just that.

Elevator

"It's kind of symbolic," Kara observed, "the way the light fades as we descend."

Jade turned her head towards the Twi-lek, "You know half the people in here are Omnists, right?"

Kara turned her head towards Jade's, "Forgive me. I was just making an observation."

Jade knew from her upbringing that Imperial Knights shared views closer to the Adherents, even if they viewed the Force as a tool, they only used one half of it.

"Still," Kara added, "The more you focus on your anger, your rage, the easier it is to fall or break."

"Both light and dark offer different abilities," Jade responded.

"Some of which we shouldn't need," Kara retorted.

"I guess it is a slippery slope," Riko joined in, "Anger can be overwhelming."

Jade couldn't help but reflect on Riko's growth. He was no longer the wide-eyed innocent she had met on Orîlla, that was clear.

To tell the truth, Jade had noticed long ago that he was guarded emotionally. She suspected he tried to avoid his pain, even if he wasn't completely sure he was doing it. She had learned that he always had trouble connecting with other people, that was the reason he had built Niner. Losing one of the few people he truly connected with...

Jade understood the pain of losing contact with a parent, but she had her father to help her through it. While he had become Jade's closest friend, the two had just met when Kali'sto vanished.

She hoped that Riko might finally try to confront it. He was starting to open up, this mission was bringing out a lot in him that she hadn't seen before; initiative, excitement, and a drive...a drive to try, one that Riko had started to lack.

"Here we are," Harkaq announced.

Lower City Streets

Unlike the sleek towers of the Upper City, the Undercity was much rougher, with less grace. It was darker, since the skyscrapers of Upper and Middle City and the decaying structures of the Lower City obscured the sun.
There was no sunlight, no nature: everything was artificial. Jade wondered if this was the same way some people thought of Coruscant prior to the Yuuzhan Vong War; almost completely artificial.
Jade moved closer to Riko as the group walked. She understood that Taris was occupied by some mercenaries and gangs. Asharr had built the backbone of their forces on mercenary units, even after they created their own paramilitary force and augmented it with droids. All the more reason to stay close to a friend.

"I'd keep an eye out for bounty hunters," Bao suggested, "Chances are that Asharr's forces are looking for us."

"Alright," Riko said.

Jade calmed herself in response and began using the Force to more closely examine her surroundings. Something felt...off. She couldn't feel anything.

Breathing heavily, Jade laid a hand on one of her lightsabers. The group did look menacing. There was an Aqualish sporting an array of vibroblades, a red-skinned male Twi'lek with a blaster rifle, and one droid. Jade didn't recognize the design of the droid with its menacing frame and the photoreceptor in its chest.

The Twi'lek carried a strange arboreal creature on his back via a harness.

"Hello," Thalia greeted.

"Greetings," the Twi'lek was the first to speak. As he did so, Jade attempted to feel him in the Force, but, to her shock and surprise, found that she couldn't, as if her connection was somehow blocked. And then she realized what the creatures were. She remembered seeing one, dead, back on Orîlla.

"I think that's a Ysalamir," Jade whispered to Riko.

"Yeah. That makes sense," Riko whispered back.

The Twi'lek raised his blaster, "Asharr's paying a fortune for Jedi like you. Please don't resist."
"What makes you think we'd turn ourselves over? Especially to just you?" Bao asked. Jade's heart began to beat faster as adrenaline started pumping into her bloodstream.

The Twi'lek laughed, "You think we're alone?" Almost on cue, two more Twi'leks, blue-skinned, one green, both wearing combat jumpsuits, backed up by two more of the unknown droids, all armed with blasters, appeared at the edge of the street, walking toward the group.

"I promise, I'll make sure you all stay alive if you surrender."

"Tempting offer," Kara said right before she turned to face the second group of mercs. Riko and Jade both followed suit.

"Forty-nine percent probability we escape," Niner warned.

"I think that's a Magnaguard. They were released during the Clone Wars, I had no idea they're even still around…" Riko whispered.
"I get the picture," Jade interrupted, examining their surroundings. They were in a large alleyway, probably ten meters wide and twenty-meters long. There was a strack of abandoned crates to her left, which Riko and Niner were inching towards.

She decided that the best chance of surviving was to strike first. Still, with the Ysalamiri casting a net around the area, they'd have to fight without the Force.

Jade enjoyed a challenge.

"Go!" Bao yelled. Evidently he had the same idea as Jade. At the split second he said so, Jade grabbed her lightsabers. Even without the Force, her reflexes were still sharp. She ignited both weapons, running toward her opponents.

Riko did the same, igniting his weapon. The two charged at the droid as Kara ran toward the blue Twi'lek. Niner simply took cover behind a stack of trash crates. The droid immediately opened fire.

A blue stun bolt infused Jade's green blade as she ducked to avoid one from the Twi'lek. Riko ducked behind the same stack as Niner, probably attempting to sneak around.

Jade finally came within a meter of her target.

Just a few more inches, just a few more…

That was when a stunbolt hit her, attempting to overload her nervous system.

"Jade!" Jade could barely hear Riko as she fell on her back, overwhelmed by the shock. Both of her sabers slipped from her hand as Jade almost hit the edge of unconsciousness.
Years of mental training caught up with Jade, and she managed to pull herself back at the last moment, her vision didn't go dark.

As she feebly moved her arms, she saw the Magnaguard look over her. It reached with a metal arm and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up into the air just as Jade managed to grab one saber.

The droid leered at her with its eyes as it started choking Jade, its other hand reaching for her lightsaber, which Jade was struggling to handle. It seemed all but hopeless…

No. It wasn't hopeless. Jade wouldn't give up. With determination, she pressed her thumb to the activation button and swung. She fell to the ground. She didn't have long before the bisected droid fell on top of her.

Bao disliked bounty hunters. Unlike soldiers, whose cause he could at least accept, mercenaries had no loyalty. They only served the person with the most credits, killing or capturing whoever they wanted to without a second thought. Bao understood Val had briefly taken a Bounty Hunter path after he was exiled. The Mandalorian at least had a code of honor in his assignments.

From what Bao could tell, these mercenaries had none.

Despite his deadened connection to the Force, Bao's fighting prowess was not slowed. The current situation was still frustrating; he felt sluggish without the Force, as if he was moving in slow motion rather than normal speed, but that wouldn't stop him, instead, he would try a new strategy.

He had already taken the time to deactivate his lightsaber while the hunters boasted, now they would face a real predator. The moment the fight began, Bao charged at the Twi-lek, grabbing both his right arm and biting on his blaster arm with his teeth. The Twi-lek yelled in pain, Bao tasted blood in his mouth while his teeth dug through the soft skin, rough muscles, rope-esque tendons, and hard bone. He hated to do this; years of evolution and civilization disappeared in this act. However, the situation dictated that he must, for the sake of the mission and his companions, and so he did.
Letting go of the Twi-lek's arm, Bao delivered an uppercut punch to his face, then let him fall to the ground as he moved on the droid, which was springing in to defend its master.

Unfortunately, its reflexes were almost as good as those of a Jedi, and it caught his neck in its hand, lifted him off the floor, tightening its grip.

Bao, short on breath, flailed, unable to break free. He heard the sound of metal against flesh and Thalia's yelps of pain before she fell to the ground. The droid threw him down beside her. Wheezing, he turned his head to see the downed empress, her arm clutching her stomach, a visible knot forming on her forehead. Bao turned his head, watching both Kara, Harkaq, and Jade fall as well. As the Twi-leks charged, one of them was hit by a crowbar in the leg and fell to the floor, yelling. The other turned its attention to the pile, which shifted as Riko pushed one of the crates towards the other and ignited his lightsaber. The boy had been clever to sneak around, but was now cornered.

The droid stood over both of his fallen foes. Both Bao and Thalia were slow to rise, even as Thalia was reaching for her lightsaber. The droid raised its fists to beat them into unconsciousness.

Then a series of rapid-fire blaster bolts tore through the droid from the aft section and it turned to its right. Bao looked to his left. A man dressed in armor stood behind them, a RC-1207 interchangeable weapons rifle in his gloved hands, configured to rapid-fire pulse mode.

The damaged droid moved to charge the assailant as it spoke, "Please state your identityyyyyyy…"

The attacker burst-fired into its chest photoreceptor. Just a second later, Thalia, whom the droid seemed to have forgotten in the last second, separated its head, shoulders, and arms from the rest of its body. The droid toppled over and lay still, Thalia barely managing to stand.

Their savior proceeded to fire a projectile from his gauntlet which overloaded the droids. The Twi-leks, one of them still in pain, charged. The injured one fell to his rifle, the other managing to knock in a few punches. Bao could just make out two figures struggling, the Twi-lek holding both arms in a wrist-lock. The intact droid started to shrug off the effects of the EMP and slowly move towards the duo. Bao tried to move up and assist his friend, Thalia started to limp towards the fight.

The warrior didn't need the help, for the droid was sliced across the middle by Riko's blade, its head and arm falling to the floor. Bao could just hear Riko whisper, "sorry," before he ran to help Jade.

The warrior was able to escape the bounty hunter's wristlock, grab his rifle, and bash her in the stomach with it, knocking her to the floor. He aimed his weapon and fired when she drew her pistol. He walked back to the wounded leader, raising his blaster.

"No!" he yelled, "My boss...he can pay you more than them!"

"That's what you always say," the warrior responded as he fired. He turned to his fallen quarry. Bao could make out the details of his armor. He wore a jumpsuit, covered by armored plates and gear from a variety of sources, most of them aruetyc. The phrik-alloy helmet, forged from a genuinely Mando'ade design that dated back to the final days of the Old Republic, featured a blue paint scheme and a yellow-tinted visor, lacking any sigil or trim save for a scarlet slash that was vertically painted on the left side of the faceplate, the likeness of a fresh wound.

Val frequently changed his armor's colors and equipment, but he always left the cut on his helmet and the red in his gloves, Bao would recognize him anywhere.

"Still can't keep out of trouble, can you ner vod?"

Jade was sure that a few ribs were, best case scenario, badly bruised, or worst case scenario, fractured, possibly damaging her lungs. Given the amount of pain she felt in her chest, she suspected that the latter was more likely.

She was barely able to hear an unnamed man yell her master's name.

"Jade!" Riko yelled. Jade moved her head to her left. To her surprise, the droid was still active, successfully crawling off of her despite its lack of legs and moving towards its blaster.

Finally, Jade saw Riko impale the droid in its back, and to her relief, it finally went still. Riko deactivated his lightsaber and crouched down.

Jade tried to speak, but it caused her chest even more pain. She barely managed to wheeze.

"She's injured! The droid must've broken something!" Riko yelled, standing up. Only his feet and legs were now visible.

"Let me treat her," a new voice announced.

Elevator

Bao had an injured windpipe. Thalia suffered from a mild concussion and a broken rib. Harkaq and Kara had both been stunned, and were merely dazed. All of their cases were being treated by an MD-D0C multi-species treatment droid. Her head was literally a vitals display. Instead of legs, she floated on a repulsorlift. Her multiple limbs, in addition to her two basic humanoid hands, featured a number of useful medical tools, which were all being used to treat the others.

What held Riko's attention, however, was Jade. It was clear she was injured, her injuries undoubtedly serious. The droid had been unable to help her without the benefits of a medical bay.

Now here they were, in the elevator to Val's residence in the Middle City. Riko's heart was hammering in his chest with panic every second.

Val and Thalia were carrying Jade as best they could without potentially causing more damage.

Riko, can you hear me? Jade's voice echoed in Riko's mind. Right now, he was too worried for Jade's life to care about the still-present, albeit minor discomfort he felt about using telepathy.

Yeah, Riko projected back.

I need to focus, Jade stated.

You mean…

Yep.

Riko kept his eyes on Jade. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then energy began to crackle around her.

"What's happening?" the droid asked.

"She'll be alright. You'll see in a minute," Riko explained.

Val and Thalia set Jade down on the elevator floor. The energy continued to surround Jade. Riko sensed that everyone was curious and fearful. He was just feeling relieved.

The energy disappeared. Jade sat up, using her hands to support the weight of her back.

"Jade," Thalia reached out and grabbed Jade's right hand, "You and I have much to catch up on." Jade smiled. Riko did as well.

"Excellent, another 'natural' advance in the field of medicine. Please don't make me obsolete," the medical droid grumbled.