Chapter 30: Jazal
Krant

Fourteen of Ras Andromias's followers now blocked Jazal's path to the door, with another six walking up behind her. She could sense the Bothans stirring awake, all over the manor. Soon, they would be present in even greater numbers.

"Release Ras Andromias!" Pelir repeated, this time sounding far less snarly, but far more firm.

"I have placed him under arrest," Jazal said as diplomatically as she could. Do they know? "I do not think Master Ras Andromias is who he claims to be."

"Jazal is a fallen Jedi," Ras Andromias croaked. "She is currently on probation. You must stop her."

"I am here on orders from the Jedi High Council!" Jazal yelled in an elevated voice.

"She does not deny it!" Ras yelled loudly. "She does not deny—"

"—My own status within the Jedi Order is none of your business, nor the business of anyone here."

Jazal stood still, gripping Ras's arm, focusing once again on his thoughts. Trying to ignore the commotion all around her. Something about Ras's mind was so alien yet so familiar. The shape was all wrong, but his emotions were so… Bothan.

Gasping in sudden realisation, Jazal faced Ras, pulling him close. "You invaded Ras Andromias's mind. All he was… Palimpsest."

"She is insane!" Ras yelled loudly, struggling to recoil. "Listen to what she is saying!"

Jazal shook her head in disbelief. "You are—"

"—WATCH OUT MASTER!" a Bothan yelped from somewhere above.

Sensing a chandelier falling from above, Jazal released Ras, allowing him to squirm out of the way. She quickly fell out of the way, landing on her back as the chandelier shattered where she had been standing.

Crystal shards flew through the air, landing on the eyeless Miraluka's face. Lying on her back Jazal ignited her lightsaber, sensing Bothans approaching from every direction. "STAY BACK!" she yelled, standing to her feet, approaching Ras.

Ras squirmed on the floor, struggling to crawl away.

Suddenly, the ground shook under the familiar shockwave of an explosion. Jazal held onto the wall for support. What could that be?

All of the Bothans and Ras Andromias froze, looking around in momentary shock and surprise. Next moment, a wailing siren of the town's alarm rang off in the distance.

Jazal sighed in frustration. "Blast."

"Grab her!" Ras gasped, at first in a raspy voice, then screamed at the top of his lungs. "STOP THE ROGUE JEDI!"

At that, holding her lightsaber, Jazal nearly snorted in laughter at his continued pathetic behaviour. Then a Bothan landed on her, jumping down from the balcony overlooking the foyer.

Jazal fell to her knees, wind knocked out of her. She grunted in fury as her lightsaber blade cut into the marble floor. If the audacity of that attack was not infuriating enough, the unarmed Bothan, sitting on Jazal's shoulders like a toddler, locked her legs around Jazal's neck, swung around in front of her face, then began punching her.

Gagging, Jazal grabbed the Bothan by the hair, hurling her to the ground.

The mob rushed in from every direction.

Jazal pulled her blade out of the marble floor and spun in a circle brandishing her blade. She could sense their fear. Yet, in spite of their fear, the Bothans continued charging. Incredible. They are willing to die, following this impersonator's commands.

Realising there was no way to secure Ras Andromias's capture without taking the lives of dozens of his followers, Jazal resolved to escape. Ducking into the shoe closet beneath the stairs, Jazal slammed the door shut.

Immediately, the mob outside responded by kicking and punching the door, all sense of calm and order lost.

Ignoring the sounds of their angry snarls, Jazal cut her saber into the wall opposite of the closet's entrance and stepped into an adjacent room. Surging with adrenaline, she force-leapt onto the sofa between her and the nearest window, then leapt through the window, saber in front of her.

The window shattered dramatically. Rain splashed over the Miraluka, accompanied by the now unmuffled sounds of the town's siren, louder than ever. Panting for breath on the lawn, Jazal began cackling madly in spite of herself. The bruises on her face, the pathetic-ness of whatever it was that now occupied Ras Andromias's body, the humour of what had just happened—For Jazal, all of it could be reacted to with uncontrollable exasperated laughter.

Wiping the blood of her face with her wet sleeve, she locked her jaw. That Bothan, or whatever the hell it was, had probably killed Ras Andromias. He now had an entire branch of the Church of the Force following him, following his teachings, willing to die for him. Jazal could not do it tonight but something had to be done about Ras Andromias.

o.o.o.o.o

Taniar Trav'nel

As the reflection of the torpedo explosions glinted on Taniar's eyeballs, her fur danced with excitement. After being humiliated, beaten, tortured, locked in a motel for three months—after members of her own team formed friendships and even relationships with their captors, Taniar had enough.

The destruction of that barn was a dream come true. The only disappointment was that her own people had been too spineless to do it in the first place. No, we had to be rescued by the kriffing Jedi.

From far below, the town's alarm rang out. Spotlights darted through the sky, searching for their craft. Taniar's fur swirled nervously as she looked to Captain Bask. The humans have a plan for this right? Then she looked to Kev, whose fur had fallen flat.

"Uh oh," Bask muttered aloud. "I hope we didn't make Jazal's job harder."

The town's shields suddenly rose from the horizon in every direction, forming an eerie blue dome in the midst of the rain.

Taniar's fur fell flat. "THE SHIELDS!" she snarled. "YOU DIDN'T TAKE OUT THE SHIELDS!"

"Don't worry about the shields," Bask said consolingly. "Scratch, the proton charge cones are affixed, correct?"

"Yes sir," a Clone answered from the cabin. "And we have another three to spare, since the shields weren't up when we arrived."

"Good," Bask spoke confidently. "No need for you Bothans to worry about the shields. We've got that handled." He gestured out the cockpit window towards something in the darkness.

Something on the tip, Taniar realised, ears perking up as she leaned near the window.

"Sir," the pilot said, pointing towards the radar. "I am reading several bogies, probably war droids."

"Take us through the shields then," Bask said. "Nice and slow."

Fear and nervousness subsiding, a more strategic desire crossed Taniar's mind. One more thing that would make this night absolutely perfect. "Sir, there's one more Bothan we are forgetting."

"You are telling me this now?!" Bask yelled incredulously. "You said all of your people were present and accounted for."

"She's not one of my people," Taniar stammered. "But Natil. One of the locals…"

"You want us to rescue one of the locals?" Bask asked.

"Yes sir," she stammered. Rescue. Rescue that bitch. Not grab her and drag her back to Botha'ahir for kriffing us over. "Yes sir!" Taniar said more firmly, having the perfect way of phrasing it fed to her. "Rescue!"

"What is going on?" Bask asked suspiciously. "What aren't you telling us?"

"Sir," Zrask growled darkly from the back of the cabin. "Gunnery Sergeant Taniar Trav is not telling you the whole story."

Taniar scowled, fur twitching stiffly. Zrask, you traitor.

Zrask shook his head wearily. "One of the locals was agreed to help us reverse engineer Mandalorian armour, in exchange for monetary compensation. It is how we got into this predicament in the first place. The night we arrived to retrieve her things went sideways. She is—"

"—Colonel Zrask Oc, sir," Taniar growled cautiously, "you are discussing classified information with an alien. You are going to compromise my entire operation—"

"—Zip it Gunny," Zrask snarled, standing to his feet. "I am the ranking officer. We are not going to go on another wild Dudub hunt. We are going. That is final."

Scowling, Taniar remained silent in the dim cockpit.

Bask laughed aloud, looking incredulously from one Bothan wearing a prison jumpsuit to another. "No Zrask Oc'nel. I am the ranking officer on this LAAT."

"You are correct, of course, sir," Zrask growled nervously. "I was merely pointing out, amongst the Botha'ahir personnel, I am the—"

"—I know what you meant," Bask interrupted.

"This is," Taniar started. She was at a complete loss for words. Then, months of pent-up rage at Zrask's failures spilled out. "THIS IS BECAUSE I BLEW UP YOUR BLASTED MECHS, ISN'T IT?! WELL, COLONEL," she yelped, biting the air furiously. "WE CAN'T FIT A MECH ON HERE, CAN WE? WE CAN FIT A LITTLE PINT-SIZED NATIL, SO I SAY WE GRAB THAT BITCH, AND DRAG HER THE KRIFF BACK TO DOME 47, WHERE SHE CAN DO SOME GOOD!"

Bask put his hand on her shoulder. "You didn't rescue us. We rescued you. We can't help you abduct one of the locals." He turned to the pilot. "Take us to the shield. We need to wait at the extraction point for Jazal."

Panting, Taniar returned to her jump seat and sat down roughly, fighting the urge to snarl as she clipped her seatbelts on.

Her ears batted in annoyance, as if to ward off insects, when both Kev and Zrask sighed in relief. They couldn't let us do that one thing, Taniar thought despondently. Well, at least they're rescuing us. Shtak, I should be more grateful.

Looking ahead out the window, she could see the town's shield draw nearer and nearer.

"Everyone," Bask said loudly. "Hold on tight. This is going to be a little bumpy."

Five seconds later, the tip of the LAAT touched the shield. The cap on the very tip of the cockpit exploded, releasing a wave of sparks and electric arcs. Becoming more transparent, a hole opened in the shield allowing the cockpit to go through.

The cabin shook. Taniar and the other Botha'ahir Bothans gripped their seatbelts, shaking in their seats. Neyar Fav'nel grunted in pain as a duffel bag dangling above came lose and dropped on her.

A second later, two similar-sounding electric explosions erupted from both wings of the LAAT, creating a wider hole in the shields.

"Erz ba zomat ar korm ordo?" [Are you okay?"] Taniar asked worriedly.

["Yeah, I'm fine,"] Neyar sighed, rubbing her head.

This time, Zrask's fur was dancing with excitement. "Brilliant!" he yipped. "Using proton charges to breach the shield!"

Taniar scowled for a moment but could not stay angry with the engineer for long. As the LAAT left the shield behind, she turned to Bask and the Clones. "Thank you for rescuing us," she stammered. It was difficult to say. Her fur twirled unhappily in shame at her inability to rescue herself.

"Yes," Zrask agreed, clearing his throat. "It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Thank you."

"Don't thank us," Bask chortled. "Thank the Jedi. It was their blasted crazy idea."

Somehow, Kev had made his presence scarce. Taniar had focused on him, mainly because he was another Spacer, not because he was a Jedi. "Thank you, Master Kev," she said, trying her best for an even tone.

"I am just a Padawan," Kev growled, fur swirling with embarrassment.

Ras Andromias, Taniar suddenly thought. Maybe he has something to do with our rescue. He did say we would be leaving soon.

o.o.o.o.o

Jazal

The roar of jetpacks now filled the air, even louder than the rain. Altogether more terrifying, two Basilisk War Droids now hovered over the neighbourhoods, making eerie electronic noises that sounded almost whale-like.

Jazal moved quickly, crouching as she walked under the trees. Very aware of how large a Bothan's olfactory gland was, she wanted to get out of town before the rain stopped.

Pulling out her Shadowsync for a moment, Jazal ran her hand across the viscous screen, feeling the blobs that represented the Agol'shtarn's map, the blob that represented her position, and the blob that represented her extraction point. Good. Moving in the right direction. The shield is just a hundred meters away.

Reaching out with the Force as she walked towards the shields, she could sense the presence Bothan far above her, riding atop one of the droids. If Jazal did not know any better, she would have guessed that the Bothan was following her.

No, Jazal told herself. If she knew where I was, she would be attacking already.

When she reached the shield, Jazal strained slightly, pushing her way through the barrier. The shield felt like very thick warm water, only, on the other side, Jazal was not any wetter than she had been before crossing.

Reaching out once more, she still sensed the presence of the Bothan and droid, only further away. Satisfied that she was not being followed, she continued on course towards the rendezvous.

o.o.o.o.o

Kev Rel'skar

Now landed at the extraction point, the LAAT sat on the road two kilometers from Agol'shtarn, lights turned off, in complete darkness.

Kev did not like it one bit, and he could sense that the other Bothans did not like it either. While the Special Operations Troopers and Clone Pilots had night-vision built into their helmets, the only thing Kev had was his naked eyes.

Some light made it into the cabin through the cockpit window, but very little. Everything about it felt exposed.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally sensed Jazal's presence. At an agonizingly slow pace, she approached. One step at a time.

"Is Jazal responsible for our rescue then?" Taniar asked in a hushed tone.

"You could say she's further up the chain," Kev replied gruffly.

Gurosk snarled in the darkness. "I still can't believe you were going to extract Natil but did not want to bring along Rhrumaymayhlma."

Taniar snorted. "I am sure Rhrumaymayhlma did not want to come with us."

"How would you know? You don't know her like I do."

"No, I don't," Taniar huffed.

Kev's fur twitched in annoyance.

"That's enough from you two," Zrask snarled. "Abducting a village elder or an armourer could be construed as an act of war. It's that simple."

"Maybe when this is all over," yipped one of the Bothans whose name Kev did not know, "your Krantian booty call might drop by our Dome. Who knows, both of Natil and Rhrumaymayhlma might—AAHH!" He yelped in pain as Gurosk's fist swung through the darkness, connecting with the tip of his snout.

"ENOUGH!" Kev snarled, igniting his blade. Not to strike down the offenders, but to see who was punching whom.

The rear of the LAAT was now illuminated by an eerie green glow.

"What the hell is happening back there?!" Bask whispered angrily, storming loudly across the LAAT, boots clanging on the metal ground. "Kev, stop kriffing fighting!"

"I'm not," Kev protested. "I—"

"—Cut that light out!"

"I am sorry sir," Kev croaked, retracting his blade.

A knock banged on the exterior of the LAAT. One, then two, then one. Jazal. Kev gasped, reaching out to her presence. He had been so distracted by the Marines quarrelling, that he lost focus on the outside world.

"General," Bask said in a hushed voice. "We are ready to return to orbit on your command."

"Good," the Miraluka said, casually stepping into the darkened interior of the LAAT without tripping on anything. "Let's be on our way then."

"Our mission was a success," Kev growled.

"I know," Jazal sighed.

Once the lights flicked on, Kev gasped. All over Jazal's face, was serious bruising. Blood from her right nostril had scabbed dry. "Master, are you—"

"—Medic!" Bask yelled. "The General is—"

"—I am fine," Jazal huffed, allowing the Clone medic to scan her face, nonetheless.

"Yes, General," the medic agreed. "This all seems to be superficial. That's a nasty scratch. Might need to put you on antibiotics for a potential infection. What scratched you?"

"Classified," she muttered. "But you're right. I'll take some antibiotic gel and blast cream."

"Coming right up," the medic replied, fumbling through his kit.

Kev sighed in relief as the LAAT lifted from the ground. We really made it.

"You did good, Padawan," Jazal said consolingly as the medic applied two types of cream to her face. "Now we—wait!" she gasped, interrupting herself. "Pilot! War Droid, Incoming!"

A moment later, Kev's danger sense flared. He did not have the same specific feeling Jazal had, but every fibre of his being told him they were in danger.

"Shassa!" the co-pilot yelled from the upper cockpit. "Contact, six o'clock!"

An eerie noise penetrated the cabin. Kev's ears folded down at the horrible sickening machinelike screech.

The hull clanged loudly as the LAAT shuddered.

"He's on the hull! Grabbing us by the rear!"

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Jazal screamed, igniting her blade.

Following her lead, Kev did the same.

The rear hatch slowly opened until a massive claw reached inside, tugging the door down. Beyond the door, peering inside, was a metallic massive snouted face. However, the snout seemed to be made entirely of guns. Above the snout were several eerie red glowing eyes.

Swinging decisively, Jazal chopped off the nearest metal claw grippng the rear hatch.

The droid moaned in pain, releasing the door with that hand.

With a snarl, Kev swung his blade into the other claw. His slice did not remove the droid's hand but cut deep into it.

The droid released the door with its other hand, then lowered its altitude, moaning in machinelike cries. As it lowered, another figure was revealed—an armoured figure of Bothan-like proportions, riding upon the droid's back.

For a wild moment, Kev feared that she would leap inside the LAAT, forcing them to either throw her out to her death, or cut her with their sabers.

Instead, the Bothan snarled furiously. "YOU KRIFFING MANIACS! THIS IS NOT THE END. I PROMISE YOU THAT."

On that note, the Basilisk War Droid and rider descended into the clouds, leaving the LAAT on its way into orbit.

Jazal and Kev sighed in relief at the same time.

For an awkward twenty seconds, no one said anything, until finally, Bask broke the silence.

"All right, let's get that rear hatch closed!"