Chapter 39: Attachment
The Zeltron's apartment was right at the edge of the spacer district, not far from the peace and tranquility of the rest of Aldera. The holo-sign on the roof declared it the Spacer's Arms apartments. It was a long rectangular structure, and like the other building here in the capital, it was built from white stone, with a slanted dome roof.
Jas Dar Bynn and Char Valenthyne emerged from their speeder and began the short walk up to the front entrance. A single guard sat reading behind the front desk.
Jas considered their options.
He hoped that Kyp Tobyn was at home, but even if he wasn't, they needed to search his apartment, try to get a lead on where he might have fled to, if he had fled.
At his side, Val cracked her knuckles, the protector was both fully armed and armored. She wore a blaster on each hip, a vibro-blade in her boot, a combat baton on her belt, a dart launcher on her wrist, and a quiver of small throwing knives on the small of her back.
Seeing her made Jas smile.
He had known Mandalorians in Clan Nuna who hadn't gone around so well armed.
Another thought quickly came to mind.
Mom would have loved Val.
Char Valenthyne certainly was intimidating that was for sure, not that he was surprised.
She was still a little angry about her earlier encounter with Vess, perhaps she needed to blow off some steam and the thought of a confrontation helped.
She looked like she was spoiling for a fight, though Jas doubted that they would find one.
If he was smart, Kyp Tobyn would offer them no resistance.
Zeltrons were not known for being violent. Jas hoped that they would have no trouble convincing the slicer to tell them what he knew.
Val didn't seem like she was in a gaming mood. Hopefully, the slicer would understand that.
The guard at the desk looked up when they entered, he lowered his data pad, and gave them a cheery smile.
"Good evening," he said politely, "Welcome to the Spacer's Arms, how can we help you this evening?"
"We're here to see a resident," Jas informed him, "Kyp Tobyn. We would like to go up and see him if we can?"
The guard nodded, and checked something on his data pad.
Jas prepared himself to be refused, it was quite late, and most establishments, such as this one, didn't let people up so late in the evening, not without contacting the person they were visiting first.
If he tried to contact Tobyn, what would the slicer do? If he tried to flee; they might lose him.
Jas was tempted to use the Force to gain access quietly, he didn't like using it to convince people to obey him, but it might work out better if he did.
As it turned out, he didn't need to.
The guard continued to smile.
"Mister Tobyn?" he said, "Ah, you must be friends of the Jedi, of Master Secura?"
Jas blinked.
Tobyn was expecting Tup Secura?
"Yes," Val said quickly, "Master Secura told us to meet him here, tonight. Has he arrived yet, by chance?"
"I'm not sure, mistress," the guard answered, "I just started my shift fifteen minutes ago, and the log from yesterday just switched over, all records have been sent to management. I have no access to them at this time."
Jas nodded. The guard's story made sense.
"We would still like to go up," he said smiling, but inside his mind was working quite quickly. He was trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle they had just found.
They didn't make sense, not really.
He was not sure what was really going on.
How would the Jedi Watchman of Alderaan know about Tobyn so quickly? Had they done business together before?
Jas had no answers.
"Of course," the guard said pressing a button on his desk, in the back of the room, one of the turbolifts lit up.
"Take that up to five, Mister Tobyn is in apartment eight, fourth door on the right, you can't miss it."
"Thank you," Val said, "May the gods smile on your day."
"Thank you, mistress," he said, "Have a nice evening now, both of you."
Jas and Val slipped past the guard and made for the lift. The door slid open as they approached. The two stepped inside, and Jas hit the button for floor five.
The guard waved to them right before the door shut.
Slowly, the lift began to rise.
Jas took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
So far, so good.
Val checked her wrist, Jas again noticed the dart launcher that she wore, it was fully loaded. He remembered that particular weapon from Val's brief time aboard the Folly. It fired darts that incapacitated their victims.
The protector was frowning.
"Did anything about that strike you as odd?" she asked.
"You mean that the guard just let two complete strangers up to an apartment without calling ahead first, yeah…that was a little odd."
Val nodded.
"It wasn't just that, Jas. I mean…look at me. I'm armed to the teeth here. Why didn't he ask to see any identification…?"
"And why the name drop of Tup Secura?" Jas added, "That wasn't very smart of him, anyone could have volunteered the fact that they were the Jedi's friends."
"Yeah," Val agreed pulling one of her pistols from its holster, checking the sights.
She frowned.
"What do you make of that? The fact that the guard at Tobyn's apartment knew Master Secure by name?"
"I'm not sure," Jas said, "Maybe Secura has needed to come out here before, maybe he and that guard are old acquaintances?"
"Maybe," the protector said, but both her expression, and what she was feeling through the Force said something entirely different."
"Jas," she said, "Is it possible that the Jedi are behind this?"
"Behind what?"
The attack on Vess, is it possible?"
"No," he said flatly.
"Are you sure about that?"
Jas was about to refuse, to launch into a full tirade of how the Jedi were guardians of the peace, and that it was not in their character to assassinate or threaten anyone, but then…he remembered what Sy had said about the greater good, and preserving the Republic.
That thought gave him pause.
Was…was it possible?
He could almost see his brother's grinning face; hear that arrogant laugh of his.
"It is all for the greater good, brother."
Is it, Jas wondered?
He wasn't so sure.
"Think for a moment, Jas," his brother's voice continued, "What if you could save an entire star system by sacrificing the life of one innocent person?"
"What if letting this person die would ensure the peace for another three hundred years? I ask you brother, isn't that a fair trade?"
Jas shook his head.
On paper, it seemed like a good deal. One innocent life versus the welfare of millions, maybe billions of souls.
Wouldn't it be wise to take that deal?
Couldn't it be considered a worthy sacrifice?
"Jas, you okay?"
He blinked and smiled at Char Valenthyne.
"Yeah," he lied, "Just trying to get a feeling for what is coming."
"Anything that you think I should know?"
He shook his head no.
He didn't dare let her in on what he had been thinking.
He knew how she would respond to Sy's question. Val's whole life was dedicated to defending her mistress. She would die before she let anyone hurt Vess.
He felt a little ashamed that he had even considered trading the young girl's life for the chance at a better tomorrow.
How was that the will of the Force?
How was that the right thing?
The turbo lift dinged as they reached the correct floor. The door opened onto a long cream-colored hallway, a crimson carpet running down its full length.
Val took the lead, she strode down it, making a beeline for apartment eight. Jas followed behind her, reaching out with the Force, trying to get a sense of what they might be walking into.
He felt nothing.
It was most peculiar.
They found the door to the slicer's room, Val knocked, but no one answered. She glanced at Jas who shrugged.
"Mister Tobyn?" she called out, knocking again.
"Mister Tobyn, we would like to talk. Could you let us in, please?"
Again, they were met with no answer.
Again, Jas reached out with the Force, and again he felt nothing. The feeling should have put him at ease, but it didn't.
He should have felt something. If Tobyn was in there, he should have been able to sense it. It the Zeltron had fled, he should have felt an echo of his desperation or fear, but…he felt nothing.
Char Valenthyne reached into a pouch on her belt, she knelt down and withdrew an electronic lockpick, and interfaced it with the door.
Jas listened as the device clicked and whirred. Despite not sensing any real danger, he drew his lightsaber, he didn't ignite it, but it was at the ready, should he need to.
"Almost," Val murmured to herself.
"Almost there."
The device chimed, and emitted a low soothing tone.
Val smiled.
"Thanks Mom...Dad," she whispered.
"I miss you both."
She pressed the button next to the door.
It slid open without any further resistance.
They entered slowly, checking the room for dangers.
Jas shook his head.
He was not surprised.
The apartment had been trashed…ransacked.
Drawers had been pulled out, dumped haphazardly on the floor. The furniture had been flipped over, likely be someone searching for some hidden secret left behind by the Zeltron, something he might have missed in his flight.
Alena was right, Jas thought to himself.
They had arrived late to this party.
He and Val spread out. The protector had one of her two blasters out, while Jas held his saber, still yet to be ignited.
The two of them searched through the wreckage.
Jas searched both with his eyes and through the Force. Kyp Tobyn's apartment gave him almost no clue to who the Zeltron was. There were no holo-pictures anywhere, and the only data pad he found was blank, its memory had been wiped.
No clue to where the mysterious slicer might have gone.
A search of the bedroom and the fresher came up equally empty. Jas had found the slicer's work station, but the computer had been gutted, opened up, with no sign of its CPU or any drives that it might have contained.
No luck, Jas thought.
Another dead end.
Val walked up to him, shaking her head.
"See anything?" she asked him.
He shook his head no.
"Do you feel anything? Maybe those Jedi sorceries can find something."
He nodded and reached out again.
He shook his head.
Still nothing, he couldn't sense anything! What was going on? He…
There was a sudden shift in the Force, a disturbance that almost made him gasp.
Time seemed to slow down.
Val stood before him, looking at him with hopeful eyes. They had been alone. He had sensed no one else within the apartment, but…
A shadow behind Val moved, it seemed to tower over her, Jas felt the Force scream!
"VAL!"
He moved swiftly, not even waiting to explain.
He yanked the protector forward, using the Force to pull her into his arms
He had still almost been too late.
A flash of crimson light filled the space where Char Valenthyne had been standing mere moments before; had Jas not acted, the protector would have been beheaded.
The force roared in Jas' ears, it sang of hate, and bloodlust denied.
He pushed Val behind him, and as he did the shadow regained substance, it stood over the two of them, towering and cold.
Jas Dar Bynn felt the bile rise in his throat.
No, he thought.
It can't be!
It seems that they had not been alone after all.
The alien was huge, standing almost seven feet tall. It's, or rather her, broad shoulders blocked out the light from one of the windows, its body was covered with stony-looking mottled grey skin.
Yet, that was not what drew his attention, not the creature's size or the color of its skin, but the face, the anvil shaped head with its tiny bony horns, the simple purple veil that covered the lower part of her face. Those dark eyes filled with savage glee and cruel malice.
Jas knew that face, it had been years, but he still remembered.
He always would remember that face, that and robes that the creature, the Tunroth, wore. Robes of deep purple with rainbow colored hem. Robes that appeared almost black by the light of the crimson lightsaber she carried.
The alien gave them a predatory grin.
"I was expecting the Jedi," the Hand of the Faith of the Sunset Collective said, "You aren't the Twi'lek, but so be it, I 'm easy..."
Her smile widened, showing a mouth of sharpened teeth.
"I'm sure you two will keep me entertained.
The alien thrust out her hand.
Jas and Val went flying.
He managed to turn his flight into a backward roll, he just missed crashing through a turned over kitchen table; somehow, he was able to land on his feet.
He tried to think, but only one thought looped through his shocked mind.
She is here. She is here.
The Hand of the Faith is here!
Char Valenthyne wasn't so lucky. She slammed hard into the Zeltron's kitchen cabinets striking so hard the wood splintered and gave way. A cry escaped her lips as she struck.
The Lady Hand didn't hesitate, she dashed forward, her lightsaber coming down and around in a wicked arc, coming down to bisect the fallen protector.
Val had no defense, she was dazed, and couldn't get out of the way.
She…
SNAP-HISS!
PANG!
Jas was there. Val could only look up, dazed.
The Tunroth's lightsaber was only a few inches from her face, but it had been blocked, held back by Jas Dar Bynn's now ignited weapon. Its violet colored blade shielding her from the darksider's killing blow.
The Lady Hand looked up, her dark eyes widening in shock.
Jas grinned.
"You," he hissed.
"YOU!"
He thrust out his own hand, shoving back with the power of the Force!
The alien gasped as she was thrown, she hit the wall with enough force to dent it.
Before she could recover; he leapt forward.
Not again, he thought.
You won't escape me again!
He attacked her savagely, he used the second form of lightsaber combat, form II or Makashi, the duelists style.
You're done, Jas thought.
I'll have your head!
Somehow the alien managed to survive his initial strike, survive and meet it with an attack of her own. She favored Djem So, the aggressor's style, fitting for one so large, and strangely enough, very quick.
For that one brief moment the two Force users were a blur, violet and red lights flashing, cracking and hissing with each strike.
Finally, the two disengaged, Jas was breathing hard, his much larger opponent put some distance between them.
Silence reigned between them, only the sound of their hearts beating and the hum of their weapons.
The Hand of the Faith looked shocked, she had not expected her prey to recover and fight back.
Her black eyes were two inky pools in the light of their weapons.
The initial shock of seeing the dark side terrorist gave way to Jas' Jedi training. In that moment, he chided himself.
He had lost control for a moment there, struck at his enemy with emotion alone.
It was amazing that he hadn't been killed.
"You," he hissed pointing his blade at the Tunroth.
"My Lady Hand," he growled, "In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, I place you under arrest!"
The Tunroth smirked.
"Cute," she said, "But I don't think so, sweetness."
From behind him, a chair flew through the air, he ducked it, only to find himself under attack again. The alien had tried to take advantage of his momentary distraction.
It hadn't worked, Master Vey had taught him well.
Their blades crossed, two, three, four, five, six strokes all in a matter of seconds!
He again turned back her attack and made her retreat. He took a quick swipe at her with his blade, its cold kiss only just missing her chest.
The Hand of the Faith stood before him, her sword in the Djem So ready position.
"Who are you," she growled, "You're no Jedi."
So, I keep telling everyone, he thought, but no one ever listens.
It didn't change things though.
He wasn't going to let her escape again.
The Hand of the Faith of the Sunset Collective was under arrest!
He was going to take her in.
"Surrender," he ordered, "Throw down your sword, this is your final warning."
The darksider did something then that he didn't expect.
She laughed.
"Oh…oh that is rich," she cackled, "I'm under arrest, oh no! Whatever will I do?!"
She grinned at him, he could feel her reaching out with the Force, the kiss of the dark side on his skin.
It made him shiver.
"You don't want to arrest me," the Tunroth purred, "You can feel it can't you? The anger, the rage, and the power that it brings, the Eternal Night calls to you, just as it did to me, all those years ago."
She chuckled.
"I don't know what you are, and I don't care, but you could be so much more than what you are now. The Eternal Night is coming, it will sweep away all before it."
She leaned in closer.
"It is better to stand at the side of the destroyer than in his way, as long as we serve him, we are exempt from what is coming. It is a good place to be."
Jas didn't respond, he had heard all this before, ten years ago.
He didn't believe it then, and he didn't believe it now.
That darkness had been defeated; Revan had been defeated. The Empire of darkness that he had tried to resurrect had been destroyed long ago!
It would never rise again.
Behind him, Val groaned and sat up.
"Are you okay?" he called out.
"Yeah," she moaned, "Ow…damn!"
He wanted to turn, see if she was okay, but he didn't dare.
Not when he had this killer standing before him.
The Tunroth glanced at Val and back at Jas.
She snorted.
"Is that attachment, I feel? Oh, that could be a problem…"
She laughed again.
"Let me help you with that."
Before Jas could move, the dark sider pressed a button on her wrist, some kind of communicator.
"FIRE!" she shouted.
The apartment exploded in blasterfire! The shriek of heavy weapons ripped through the normally quiet Alderaan night.
Jas didn't hesitate, he leapt back and shielded Val, both with his body and the Force.
He didn't dare move, everything was heat, fire, and smoke.
Too many blasts too parry, he thought, all he could do was shield…endure.
He needed to wait for his opportunity.
Val had her hands over her ears, he thought she might have been screaming but couldn't tell.
Then…as suddenly at it began, it was over.
The firing stopped.
He looked up and was nearly blinded, harsh white light shone through the now broken and burned wall.
Search lights he realized, from an air speeder in mid-air...or from a small ship…
…An escape ship!
No!
Jas was back on his feet in seconds! He darted towards the window.
She will not escape again!
A speeder truck with an open flatbed floated by the window, he counted six humanoids on board, all clad in the purple robes of Collective Acolytes.
He saw the Hand among them barking orders, the speeder began to pull away.
No, Jas thought raising his hands.
NO!
YOU!
DON'T!
He reached out with the Force. The air speeder was massive, but Jas didn't care.
Have to stop it, he thought.
Have to stop it!
The Force responded.
The speeder froze in mid-air, its engines whining loudly.
Jas wouldn't let go.
He would NEVER let go!
Strangely enough, it wasn't anger that was fueling him this time, in the past he had only been able to do things like this when he almost lost control, but not this time…
It wasn't anger or rage that was fueling his power, those emotions were there, but they were contained, they had no hold over him.
What was giving him his power at that moment wasn't rage.
It was love.
He was thinking about Mother Nuna, the woman who had raised him. The Mandalorian chieftain had never been the doting type, but she had loved all her foundling, protected them, made sure they were prepared for the world.
Even a lost Jedi youngling, one that not all of her clan trusted, she had made him welcome, taught him what he needed to know, and gave him the chance to be who he wanted to be.
He thought of how she had died, sacrificing herself over the skies of Kuat. She had used her dying breath to save Jas and his friends that day. He owed her much for that sacrifice.
He glared at the speeder, at the Collective terrorists trying to flee.
His eyes narrowed.
I'll see you all dragged before the courts in chains. You will pay for all the people you killed back on Kuat, and all the people that have died on other worlds since.
The Hand of the Faith, the First Speaker, and all the so-called Words were going down.
The Sunset Collective was finished!
Several of the acolytes had realized what he was doing they spun back with their blasters raised, it took all his strength to maintain his hold, he wouldn't be able to stop them. He…
Blasterfire rang out behind him, behind him, and to his right.
Char Valenthyne was there. Her twin pistols barked red light, striking two of the acolytes and sending the others scurrying; looking for cover.
Val likely didn't understand what was going on, but she had his back. He was grateful for that.
The octave of the speeder's engines went up higher, the pilot was really opening it up, trying to pull his way free.
Jas Dar Bynn grinned.
He had an idea!
He saw the red glow of the Hand's lightsaber, the Tunroth was coming to try and free them.
Jas' expression turned sly.
You want to be free of my grip? Fine.
Here you go.
He waited until the pilot revved the engine again, and then…
He let go.
The speeder jerked forward, the collective members in the back lost their footing, some slamming to the floor of the flatbed. Two of the purple clad acolytes fell over the side, down to the street below.
The speeder had not been in position to escape, it had been too low, it jerked forward and…
…it slammed into the building across the street
The cab was crushed, and the speeder began to spin wildly. It tipped to the side and shot up and over the apartment building.
Jas heard a loud crunch above them, it sounded like the speeder had hit the building's dome roof.
He smiled.
I have you now.
"We can't let them get away," he shouted to Val.
"Come on, we have to stop them!"
"Jas wait," she called after him.
"Jas!"
He didn't stop, he couldn't stop.
Too much had happened to stop now.
The Hand could tell them where the First Speaker was hiding.
He could end the threat of his old enemies with a single stroke.
"Who was that?" the protector shouted trying to keep up.
"An old enemy," he called back, "One of the reasons I chose to stay away after the first time we met."
"What does that mean? What does this have to do with Vess?"
Jas frowned.
Now that was a very good question.
He looked forward to wringing the answer out of the Tunroth.
I can't let her slip through my fingers again, Jas thought.
I can't.
He owed it to Mom.
Justice needed to be served.
IOI
They made their way up to buildings roof. As Jas had suspected, the speeder truck had come down hard, its cab was completely crushed, small fired burned, but the building didn't appear in danger of catching fire itself.
Stone didn't burn all that well.
Jas reached out with the Force again. He could sense desperation and anger, at least a few of the Collective members had survived the crash.
We don't have long, he realized, the crash, the heavy weapons fire, he would not be shocked to learn that the authorities were already on their way, and could be here at any moment.
He intended to have this matter settled before they arrived. He would not give the Hand of the Faith another chance to escape.
He needed to know what the collective's mission here on Alderaan was. Why was the succession on Bantoon important enough that the First Speaker had sent his hand here?
Char Valenthyne had her blaster pistols out, ready to engage the enemy. Jas gripped his lightsaber tightly.
He had no doubt that the Hand was among the survivors of the crash.
"FOR THE ETERNAL NIGHT"
The cultists struck them from behind. The two men emerged; one firing a blaster, and the other armed with a wicked looking ax.
The one with the blaster made the mistake of trying to engage, Jas. He wasted no time with the zealot, parrying the blast with his lightsaber, and sending the bolt back and into collective man's face.
The terrorist fell without a word, as his life ended, Jas came to realize that he was looking at the guard that had greeted them at the door.
Jas nodded grimly.
At least now he knew why the man had known the Twi'lek. It seemed that the Lady Hand had been tasked with killing the Jedi.
Well, she had certainly failed in that mission, Jas thought.
He had no intention of giving her another chance.
The ax wielding zealot was no match for Val. She sidestepped his blow, raised her hand, and caught him with a vicious chop to the neck.
The man stumbled to his knees. Before he could recover, Val drew her blaster, and shot him twice in the chest, stun blasts rippled from the nose of her pistols.
Jas nodded gamely, pleased with the protector's restraint.
If the Hand didn't come quietly; they would need someone else to talk.
Jas thought that they may just have found that someone.
Speaking of the Tunroth?
Jas didn't see her, she was hiding again, he reached out with the Force and felt the same nothingness that had hidden the darksider in the apartment below.
He shook his head.
It was a good trick, he supposed, but it wouldn't save her.
"You two are beginning to become a real pain," the alien's voice echoed from everywhere.
Val jerked her blasters in all directions trying to find her.
"This was supposed to be a simple job," the Hand continued, "Kill the Jedi, and send his head back to his precious order in a box, but you two just had to go and kark everything up!"
The alien sighed loudly.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Jas snorted; he had no need to defend his choice in coming here.
"Where is the First Speaker," he called out, "Where is your master hiding?"
"Why were you waiting at the slicer's?" Val added.
The Hand of the Faith chuckled.
"So many questions," she said, "And neither of you are going to learn poo doo from me. As for you, Force user, who are you? I get the feeling we've met before?"
"Answer my question, and maybe I'll answer yours," Jas replied.
The Tunroth didn't dignify his offer with an answer. She continued to remain hidden, her voice echoing in the shadows.
"You do seem familiar," she said, "You clearly aren't one of us. So, what happened? Did you lose a family member to us, maybe? Someone who gave their life in the name of the faith?"
"You don't have a faith," Jas growled, "You're terrorists! You proved that on Kuat, and dozens of worlds since."
Jas paused.
No, he thought.
What have I done?!
As soon as the words were out of his mouth; he regretted them.
The Hand of the Faith was not a fool.
She was smart enough to put one and one together.
"Kuat? Why would you be asking…about…?"
Finally, she laughed.
"Well, what do you know," she chuckled, "If it isn't Clan Nuna's Jedi pup, look at you, all grown up."
Jas Dar Bynn's eyes narrowed.
"I'm guessing Brother Targo didn't kill you? I guess that explains why he never brought the clan over to our side."
"You would guess correctly," Jas answered, "You're going to pay for what you did that day, creature. You are going to answer for all the deaths you caused, not just for the life of Mother Nuna."
"Oh, I'm scared pup," she replied dryly, "Quaking in my boots."
The Tunroth laughed again.
"So much anger in you, so much attachment. You're not looking for justice up here, you came for revenge."
"You don't know me," Jas hissed back.
"We'll see."
The air shuddered behind them; Val just managed to turn.
The Hand's lightsaber came up, and she sliced through the barrels of both of Val's blasters. She swung at Val's head, but the protector was too fast for that. She whirled around, spin kicking the lightsaber from the alien's hand. Then, she stepped forward, ready to strike at the alien's exposed neck only to have the Hand dance back and backhand Val with a strike of her own.
Char Valenthyne tried to roll away from the blow, but it came in too hard and too fast.
The strike left her dazed, and that was all the alien needed.
As she went down on her knees, the alien caught her, and Val was quickly yanked back to her feet in a Force grip. The Hand of the Faith lifted her into the air, using her body as a shield holding her in front of Jas.
He whirled around bringing his blade up in a Makashi guard.
"Let her go," he shouted.
The Tunroth smirked.
"You want me so bad, come and get me," almost as an after thought, she recovered her own blade through the Force. She ignited it, and pointed it at Val's now exposed back.
Her smile widened as she saw Jas hesitate, not wanting to risk hurting Val, or taking the chance that the alien would stab her.
"There is that attachment again," the Hand mocked.
Val couldn't move, she floated before him like a kite caught in a strong breeze. She couldn't speak, but he could read her lips, even by the firelight of the destroyed speeder.
"Get her," Val mouthed.
"Get…her."
He snarled, he wanted so badly to strike back, but he couldn't.
Val floated before him, she was choking, caught in the alien's grip.
The Tunroth was grinning from ear to ear.
She was loving this.
"You want to know where the First Speaker is, Runt? All you have to do…is kill the girl, and I'll tell you."
Jas didn't move, his blade remained where it was.
The Hand of the Faith sneered at him, no doubt knowing what he would do. She claimed to have been a Jedi once…
…She likely could sense it, how far he would go.
In this case, it wasn't far enough.
"Attachment is weakness," the Hand chided, "It is the death of duty. Why bother protecting this woman when all that you want is so close. What does the life of a mundane matter to people like us? The Eternal Night is the master of all those that hear the Force. Once you have heard the call, you will understand."
"Let her go," Jas hissed, "Or face the consequences."
The alien shook her head.
"Well, you sound like a Jedi, too bad you will never be one."
The Tunroth shook her head.
"How…disappointing."
It was at that moment that a searchlight fell on the roof, two security speeders and a medical vehicle floated before them.
"THIS IS ALDERA SECURITY!" a voice emerged over the loud speaker, "LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND PREPARE TO BE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY!"
The Hand sighed.
"Well, looks like playtime is over."
She smirked at Jas.
"See you around, kid."
She gestured with her left hand.
Val flew towards the security speeders. The Tunroth launched her like a missile.
She flew towards it…head first!
Jas whirled around and reached out with the Force, trying to stop her, to save her.
He felt her slow but…
The Hand attacked from behind.
Jas lost his grip on Val, he had no choice, he spun blocking her strike and then slashed at the alien.
In that brief moment he smelt smoke and burning meat.
"ARRRRRRRGH!"
The Tunroth was livid. She roared and swatted at Jas; she had been too close, inside his guard. He had not managed to get his blade up, but…luckily, neither had she. All she could do was strike with her large meaty fist, she managed to back hand him, his jaw clicked from the blow, and sent him sprawling to the ground. His lightsaber flew from his grip.
"MY HAND!" the alien roared, "LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"
She glared down upon him, holding up her left arm, three of her fingers were now missing.
The Force boiled with her rage, her desire for vengeance.
She kicked him...HARD!
"DAMN YOU!"
Stun blasts shimmered from the belly of the security ships. The Hand of the Faith backflipped out of their path, and took off running, snarling with impotent rage, her large shape a blur in the night.
"NO!" Jas shouted, trying to stand, his head still ringing from her strike.
"GET HER!" he shouted.
"DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!"
He tried to pursue. His desire to chase after his old enemy almost consumed him, but in that moment, he remembered.
Val.
He looked around the roof, trying to see her, no longer hearing the voices of the security people, they didn't matter, only one thing mattered.
He ran to the edge of the building.
"VAL!" he shouted.
"VAAAAAL!"
He looked down, and what he saw made him gasp in horror.
Char Valenthyne lay tangled in an awning five stories below. She wasn't moving, and even from here, he could see that her right leg was bent in an unnatural angle.
He reached out with the Force, trying to sense her, to get an idea of how hurt she was.
All around him, security forces were dropping onto the roof. They had their weapons out, trying to surround him.
He didn't give them a chance.
He leapt down to the ledge closest to where the protector lay. He could still sense her, praise the Force, but her life was flickering weakly.
He reached out with his powers trying to bolster it, that flicker of life that still burned inside of her. It was the smallest of embers, but he didn't give up. He wanted to keep her here. He wanted to hold her in this moment.
I can't lose her, he thought.
I won't.
"Do not move," the shout from the security ship's loudspeaker almost deafened him.
"Move again, and we will open fire!"
Jas heard them, he acknowledged, but only because he had heard them. It was taking all of his concentration, and power, to hold onto Val. He needed to keep her here, in this moment.
He had already lost Mother Nuna to the Sunset Collective.
He had no intention of losing Val.
He surrendered to the Alderaani, but didn't leave Val's side until she was safely aboard a medical transport, on her way to the hospital.
He would have gone with her, but the security officers gave him no choice, they took his blade and loaded him up in the back of their speeder. His hands were locked in stun cuffs
Jas shook his head.
He still hoped that the security forces would catch up with the Tunroth, but he feared that it was already too late.
He could no longer sense her, and that meant only one thing.
She is gone.
He realized.
She escaped…again.
The thought filled him with anger, he would have lashed out at his captors, but that would mean little at that moment.
He would not give them a reason to hurt him.
He needed to stay strong, for Val, and for Vess.
He shook his head.
I won't dishonor them.
He had not expected this, not expected to find the Sunset Collective here.
Why did they care about Bantoon?
Why was the succession of its ruler so important?
He had no answers.
All he could think about was Val, hoping that she was okay.
His thoughts drifted back to the Hand of the Faith, and what she had said to him.
Attachment is weakness.
It is the death of duty.
He sighed.
Maybe it was, but in that moment he didn't care.
All that mattered at that moment…was Val.
He feared for her safety, and something else as well.
"What am I going to tell Vess," he wondered.
He had no answers.
All he could do…was hope for the best.
What am I going to say? What am I going to do?
I don't know, he thought, the guilt weighing him down like a stone tied around his feet.
I…don't know.
He found himself praying to the Force.
Please be okay, Val.
Please.
All he could do…was hope.
If that was attachment, so be it.
Some attachments in life were worth it.
He would not trade it for anything, or anyone.
Anyone.
