Chapter 13

The Abode of the Damned

Captain Gwerto returned to the security room, a score of his crew behind him with newly-acquired blasters from the armory. Vrossk stood at the security console, keeping an eye on the camera feeds. We've got what we need. Now, let's begin our trip to the surface. Nobody can stop us now. "Skipper?"
"What is is, Vrossk?"

"You'd…you'd better come look at this."

It might have been nothing, but the urgency in his normally unflappable first mate's voice convinced Gwerto to see what the problem was. Still, it's probably nothing more than a response team headed down here. We can deal with them once they arrive. Gwerto climbed onto the walkways and made his way up to the central platform, where Vrossk eyed the security monitors with increasing worry. "What is it?"

Vrossk pointed to one of the displays, showing a feed from one of the cellblocks. Two humans were clearly visible, working their way across the block along the walls. The one on the left was a young man with reddish-brown hair, while the one on the right was a young woman with long blonde hair. Each had a distinctive, small braid running down their right shoulders. Both were armed with riot batons, but other than green armored vests neither was dressed like a guard. They wore long, dark brown hooded cloaks, under which they wore the armored vests. Barely visible under the vests were utility belts and strange, robe-like garments, tan in the man's case and dark brown in the woman's. A flash of metal revealed what looked like small cylinders hanging off of their belts. Vrossk and his Captain, thinking back to their last raid, immediately knew who these strange visitors were. "Jedi. They must be those visitors you heard about."

"I know. What should we do, Skipper? They could…"

Gwerto put his hand on his first mate's shoulder. "They won't do anything, Vrossk. We're more than a match for them, and we own this place now. Besides, we could use a little revenge. You remember who sent us here, right?"

"Right, Skipper. Them Jedi that boarded us."

"Then let's take the boys and go say hello. Get some payback before we leave."

Vrossk's face turned upwards in a mischievous grin.

"I like the sound of that, Skipper."

Gwerto turned towards his crew and the other inmates on the ground floor, who had noticed his and Vrossk's worried discussion and had now gathered around the central platform, wondering what had gotten the two so riled up. The pirate captain addressed the inmates, keeping his voice as resolute as he could.

"Gentlemen! We have a slight hiccup in our plan. Don't worry; we can handle it. We've got two guests what just came down here. Jedi, by the looks of it."

"Jedi? You mean them space wizards? I thought they was just a rumor?"

"Oh, they're quite real. My being here is evidence enough of that. It was several years ago, while I was prowling the space lanes that I ran into a few of their kind. They boarded my ship, killed many of my crew, and sent whoever was left to this filthy trap. They thought they had beaten me. Beaten us. Well, I'll tell you right now, they haven't!"

Shouts of approval went up from the crowd.

"Whatever you've heard of them, they're nothing compared to us. They die just like any other beings. And these two, these interlopers into our world, will die. This time tomorrow, we will be free again, plying our trades as we please. And these Jedi, these interlopers, will lie here in this abode of the damned, as we once did…forever!"

The crowd grew wilder, whoops of approval drowning out Gwerto. He shouted a final exhortation to the mob, raising his fist to accent it. "DEATH! DEATH TO THE JEDI! BY OUR HANDS, THEY SHALL DIE!"

The crowd erupted into shouts of sadistic joy, raising their fists in solidarity with Gwerto and chanting, "Death, Death" in a bloodthirsty trance. It's amazing how easy it is to keep simpletons like this in line. Just point them in the right direction and give them some appropriately bloodthirsty encouragement, and they'll do anything for you.

"Now, let's go find the Jedi. I'm sure their innards will make excellent decorations for this dismal place!"

Obi-Wan and Siri walked through the small doors at the other end of the cellblock, into tiny stairwells dug into the rock. Stairs led up to the upper level, with nothing but asteroid crust and dim lights on the walls and ceiling.

So much asteroid crust: the Correctional Authority doesn't even bother to put proper walls in many of these corridors. I don't know how the guards don't go mad at the sight of all this drab, black rock everywhere.

Siri's voice suddenly echoed through their Force bond. Obi-Wan. You check out the cells on the top floor. I'll see where these stairs lead. Maybe I can get into that guard post overlooking the cellblock.

Go for it.

Siri ascended the stairs and walked through another security door at the top, leading up a ramp into a small area with large security doors on either side. Those ones on the right must lead out of the cellblock. Those ones on the left look like they lead into the guard post. Then, she noticed something.

I can hear muffled voices from inside that room. What's going…

The security doors opened, revealing four inmates in their distinctive orange jumpsuits standing inside the guard post. Siri could see dead guards lining the walls, some with relatively clean blaster wounds and others torn to pieces in a bloody mess. A Gran stood in the open door, with another Gran, a human, and a Trandoshan near the openings overlooking the cellblock. The Gran in the doorway spoke first, in a slimy, lecherous voice with a leering grin. The inmates in the background all eyed Siri, grinning at her. Ugh…revolting. They're all looking at me like a piece of meat. "You should be careful, little girl. This ain't a place to be walkin' around alone for a pretty young thing like you…"

That's enough from this disgusting pig.

Siri threw the activation switch on the riot baton, and it buzzed to life, electricity coursing around it. The Gran in front of Siri looked surprised for a moment, and then resumed his lusty routine with a laugh. "I guess you like it rough, then…"

With a sudden burst of energy, Siri thrust the riot baton into the Gran's mouth. He fell onto the floor, convulsing and screaming in pain. Before he could do anything else, she plunged the baton into his gut, holding contact for several seconds. The Gran howled in agony, his limbs wildly flailing as the electricity coursed through his nervous system. She finally pulled the baton away, and the Gran went limp, his eyes fluttering shut. Siri looked up at the other inmates, who stared at her in shock. She quickly went for the nearest inmate, the Trandoshan. She drove the baton into the center of his chest, and he recoiled onto the floor with a yelp of pain before falling unconscious. The human tried to grab her, but as he reached out she sidestepped out of the way and swung the baton into his stomach. The human doubled over onto the floor as Siri brought the baton down on his back. He jerked upwards and then lay still. As Siri turned to face the second Gran, she heard the opening of security doors. Across from the guard post, five more inmates had just entered the room. They seemed surprised to see an intruder in their midst at first, but once they laid eyes on Siri, they all grinned lecherously as they cracked their knuckles, rapped their palms with deactivated electrobatons, or held up shanks. One inmate looked Siri right in the eyes as he drew his finger across his throat with a menacing, sadistic smile on his face. The second Gran raised his hand, as if gesturing his fellow inmates to halt. As he spoke, he kept his eyes on Siri.

"Finders keepers. I was in here first, and I get to have her first. Then, you fellas can take turns."

Obi-Wan…

Obi-Wan was investigating one of the cells when he heard screaming coming from the guard post. Siri…wait, that's not Siri. She must have run into some inmates. Force help the first one that tries to touch her. Come to think of it, that's probably him now.

Obi-Wan set off for the security doors at a brisk walk. She can take care of herself. There's no rush. Hell, I think she'd turn that riot baton on me if I tried to help out. Say something about how she's not a damsel in distress.

Suddenly, her voice echoed through their Force bond, panic in every syllable.

Obi-Wan!

Without hesitating, Obi-Wan began sprinting for the security doors, dashing through them and up the sloped hallway into the guard post. As he rounded the corner, he saw five inmates moving towards the door, brandishing various weapons. Some had small electrobatons similar to the one Nurkkis had used on Coruscant (Obi-Wan quickly pushed the memory of his torture away) clearly stolen from the guards. Others carried homemade knives or pieces of pipe. One had a guard's vest and holster on over his orange jumpsuit, with a DH-17 visible in it. Obi-Wan activated his baton, and it buzzed to life. He focused on the inmate with the vest and blaster, letting the Force guide his strike straight at the man's chest. The inmate turned to face the charging Padawan and drew his blaster. Obi-Wan ducked to the right as the man lined up on him, and the inmate fired his DH-17 harmlessly into the wall as Obi-Wan brought his baton into the man's chest. The inmate collapsed to the floor with a cry of pain, his blaster flying from his hands. Obi-Wan knocked the man out with a baton strike to the face. By now, the other inmates had noticed their visitor, and some had turned their attention to him. Obi-Wan could see Siri inside the guard post, fighting several inmates with her own baton. Although she was entirely focused on the fight around her, Obi-Wan could tell she sensed his presence. Obi-Wan suddenly snapped back to his own struggle for survival as an inmate lunged at him with a shank. Obi-Wan brought his baton up, slamming it into the jagged piece of metal. The inmate swore as the jolt ran up his weapon and into his body, sending his arm flailing and the shank clattering into the nearby hallway. The inmate stumbled backwards, trying to regain his footing as Obi-Wan drove his baton into the inmate's stomach. The inmate convulsed onto the floor, unconscious. Obi-Wan turned to see another inmate, a large Aqualish, coming at him with an electrobaton. He blocked the blow, but the Aqualish struck again. The two fenced for several seconds, each parrying the other's blows, until Obi-Wan sensed an opening. He went under the Aqualish's guard, catching him with a glancing blow to the hip. The Aqualish stumbled into the nearby wall, and Obi-Wan brought him to the ground with a single strike to the head. Obi-Wan scanned his surroundings for any more threats, but all he saw was Siri taking on the remaining three inmates. She whacked a Gran with her baton, sending him stumbling out of the room.

She left one for me. Great.

As Obi-Wan closed in to finish off the Gran, he saw an inmate, a Weequay, coming at Siri from behind. She turned, only to take a jab to the shoulder. She shrieked in pain and stumbled away as the Weequay moved in, hungrily eyeing her. The second inmate left ran towards Siri, trying to grab her as she tried to escape the Weequay. Obi-Wan dashed towards Siri, swatting aside the second inmate with his baton. The inmate crumpled unconscious as Obi-Wan set his focus on the Weequay. Just as the Weequay raised his baton to strike Siri, Obi-Wan brought his own baton into his adversary's with a violence that disturbed even him. The Weequay's baton flew from his hands, and he stumbled backwards. Before he could recover his balance, Obi-Wan pulled the Weequay forward with the Force and, with all his might, swung his baton into the inmate's gut. The weight and jolt of the baton hitting his forward momentum sent the Weequay to the floor, clutching his stomach and screaming in pain. Obi-Wan then brought his baton down on the Weequay's face, knocking him out cold. He quickly ran to Siri, who had recovered from the jolt and now stood near the doorway, scanning her surroundings. "Siri! Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine…ughh…" She winced and clutched her shoulder.

"I'm fine. It just stings, that's all."

"Then let's keep moving. We still need to reach the…"

"OBIE! LOOK OUT!"

Obi-Wan whipped around to see the Gran that had stumbled out of the room going for the blaster that the other inmate had lost when Obi-Wan entered the fight. Obi-Wan pushed Siri to the floor with a "GET DOWN" as the Gran turned to fire at them. With a quick Force pull, Obi-Wan jerked the blaster from the Gran's hands and grabbed it by the barrel.

Nice trick. You almost had me there.

Obi-Wan rushed the surprised Gran, bringing the butt of the pistol into his face. The punch-drunk Gran stumbled backwards, raising his hand helplessly as Obi-Wan hit him again with the butt of the pistol. The inmate tumbled to the floor, blood seeping from his nose and mouth. Obi-Wan finished him with a baton thrust to the stomach. The Padawan quickly scanned his surroundings. Nobody else is conscious, except for Siri and myself. The fight is over.

"You were saying, Kenobi?"

"I said we need to keep moving. We're a long way from the maintenance areas, and we've got an entire prison's worth of these ne'er-do-wells up against us."

"Good plan, Kenobi. Easy to follow."

Siri walked to Obi-Wan's side as Obi-Wan pocketed the pistol's power pack and threw the weapon to the floor. At least when they come to, it will be useless to them. "So, are you going to yell at me for coming to save you like some damsel in distress?" Siri didn't smile. "Not when the distress is real, Obi-Wan. If anything, I should be thanking you now."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that, Siri Tachi."

She smiled weakly at him, a mixture of worry and gratitude in her eyes, until her usual feisty façade took over again.

"I hope I never have occasion to after today."