Chapter Twenty-Five

Jade's guest quarters, Inquisitor class Star Destroyer Corsair

Jade's newfound insomnia had nothing to do with the stormy gloom that now permeated through the viewport.

There was only one person who entered and exited the room, and she had no intention to discuss her roiling emotions with him.

Jade had no one to talk to, no one with whom to work through the mom-shaped hole in her life, no one to help her cope with the shattering of her worldview.

It was times like this that she wished the most for Riko.

Lying down on her bed, Jade recalled the day she first met her best friend. He had been forced to deal with the loss of a parent, possibly forever. Jade's advice had been that Riko would know if his father had died, and that he would one day see him again.

Jade had known merely a fraction of the emotions Riko had felt that day. Until now.

Jade, a voice echoed in Jade's head. Riko's voice.

We're nearby. Don't worry, we're coming.

Elated, Jade prepared to respond. But she was interrupted by the sound of a lightsaber activating. It was muffled, coming from the other side of the door.

Something was going on.

Jade knew better than to automatically assume that Riko and Bao were on the other side of the door. If she listened carefully, she could just make out voices over the clashing of lightsabers.

"Lord Asharr, what are you…..Aaaaghh!" Jade felt a deep sensation of horror emanating from the outside of the room. Her mind recoiled from it, she backed away towards the refresher.

The door opened. A familiar figure stepped through, wielding a red lightsaber. Next to it stood a female nautolan clad in Jedi robes whose presence in the Force felt eerily artificial.

"Hello, Jade."

Jade didn't hesitate. She sprinted into the refresher, locking the door.

Her heart pounding, Jade examined her options. One, wait for the Dark Jedi to break though and capture her. Two, attempt to fight her way out. Or three…

Jade looked up. She saw a vent on the ceiling in the small room. It was too small for a typical adult human to pass through, but Jade might be able to fit in there….

A red lightsaber blade cut through the door and began to slice a portal into the room. Jade knew which option to go with.

She looked at the vent and extended her hand towards it. The grate fell to the floor with a sharp clang.
Jade cursed her clumsy efforts to sneak away.
As the blade was halfway finished cutting through the door, Jade jumped, managing to grab ahold of the opening in the vent.

The vent's edge dug into the skin of her hands. For one moment, she struggled to pull up the weight of her body.

She succeeded, and was able to drag herself inside.

The tube was narrow, the temperature a little colder than Jade felt comfortable with. But she had no doubt she could move through.

With a last effort, she grabbed the grate through the Force and moved it back into its original position.

She didn't look back. She just kept crawling forward.

Wild Nomad cockpit

Val sat down, taking up his mother's old chair, facing the wide, rectangular viewport. The room now felt cramped compared to the bubble viewport of the Vagrant. Val didn't like this part of the vessel; it was too old, too cramped, too full of memories.

"Incoming transport, please exit the system!"

The Nomad couldn't push through all those ships alone, especially not in her current state.

"Emdee, I need you in the gunner's seat! Now!" Val yelled, activating the intercom to the medbay.

"Val, can't one of the Jedi man the guns?"

"Incoming transport, leave or we will open fire!"

"Just get your besk'shebs up here now, I need all hands on deck," Val said.

"Very well." A minute later, the computer-headed annoyance stumbled into the cockpit, hovering towards the gunner's turret.

"My specific targets?"

"Any TIE/X's or cruisers in range. Hell, just target anything that shoots at us," Val ordered.
"Aye aye, Captain," Emdee said somberly. Now they were ready, or as ready as they would be to fly through an Imperial patrol to drop off an escape pod flown by two Jedi and a broken droid.

Corsair vents

Jade had continued for what she guessed was about half an hour. She was shivering in the dry cold of the tunnel. Through the grates in the vent, she could make a rough guess as to where she was going, where on the ship she was now.
Judging by the size of the room, she was located directly above the quarters of someone very important.

It didn't seem like the worst place to enter.

Jade kicked the grate down to the floor, catching it with the Force and ensuring that it landed softly. The girl then jumped and landed on her feet. Relieved to escape the claustrophobic tunnel, Jade looked around.

Clearly meant to provide lodgings for a very important official, this chamber was clearly some kind of living room, with a massive window, a table, chairs, a display case, and a desk, covered messily with datapads, crumpled-up flimsi, and pens. Jade could tell that the cruiser was descending towards a planet, one that appeared dark and stormy.

Jade's eyes came upon the case, which carried two weapons, and she was surprised to recognize not only one of her own lightsabers, but Riko's old lightsaber as well.

He'll be happy to have this back, Jade thought as she grabbed both weapons and affixed them to her belt.

Jade prepared to move back into the vents, but then the entrance opened. A shadow stepped through the portal, the doors quickly closing behind it. A familiar red lightsaber ignited from the warlord's hand with a hiss, like molten metal meeting water.

Asharr had found her.

Jade ignited her lightsabers and charged it.

The Dark Jedi easily blocked her attacks, while its own strikes were difficult for Jade to counter. Asharr's style was elegant and precise. Jade sliced, parried, swung, pivoted. She drew upon all of her training in lightsaber combat, but she couldn't defeat her. Asharr already seemed to understand her technique from the first swing.

Desperate, Jade sent a Force-blast her way. Asharr was blown a couple of feet away, only to land nimbly on its feet. Even before it hit the ground, it responded with a blast of their own. Jade raised a shield to deflect the worst of it, but she was still thrown across the room, knocking over the table. Both of her sabers flew from her hand.

Groaning, Jade was sure that she had at least suffered some bruises from the impact, if not worse, judging from the pain. She tried to rise, only to feel her limbs and torso pinned down by invisible hands.

"Not bad," Asharr complemented, moving towards Jade, "You truly have potential, Jade."

"What do you want?" Jade asked angrily.
"Tau has inflicted much upon you."
"He'll stop you," Jade stated weakly, now filled with panic.
"No he won't," Asharr responded solemnly, "Your revenge upon him, our revenge, is at hand."

Jade was starting to realize what was about to happen.

"No…"

"I am truly sorry.

"No...Please…!"

"I promise, it will be over soon."

"Please!" Jade begged, "Don't…!"

Vagrant Cockpit

Bao could already see a squadron of TieXs flying towards them. Despite their odds, he felt prepared. He trusted in his friend, in his apprentice, in the Force, and most importantly, in himself.

Then he heard Riko screaming, and turned towards his apprentice.

Riko convulsed, falling to the floor. He was clearly feeling pain, whether it was his or someone else's.

"Riko!" Niner grabbed his hand, "Riko! RIKO!"

Bao quickly lept out of his seat, not sure what to do.

"Riko!" He bellowed, "We're here, we're here."

The boy's voice grew silent, he low just lay still, panting.

"Is everything alright over there?" Val asked before explaining, "Emdee reactivated the comm channel without telling me, I heard everything."
"We're ok, Val," Bao responded halfheartedly, "I'll explain when this mission has ended."
"Alright," Val responded, "We're about to enter a real storm here. Buckle up."

"I felt Jade," Riko said, Niner helping him to his feet, "It felt like something horrible was happening to her. As if she was….." Riko's voice trailed off.
"I'm sorry Riko," Bao said grimly, assuming the worst.

"No," Riko said a little furiously, "It wasn't like that. More like…. Scrap it, I can't describe it. All I can say is that it felt painful, whatever it was."

"Hold on!" Bao heard Val's voice over the comm system. He got back into his seat and activated the Vagrant's ion cannon.

"Whatever it was," Bao said to Riko, "We'll find her. I promise."

As the TieXs opened fire, Bao hoped that the promise he had just made was one he could keep.