Chapter 40: Hope and Help

Char Valenthyne flew through the air, she shot out like a missile, flying towards the floating security speeder, about to strike it head first.

Jas whirled and reached out with the Force, he had not stopped her flight but he had slowed it considerably, giving the protector time to not only raise her arms, but also to twist her body…she…

CRUMP!

She struck the side of the vehicle, hitting with enough force to dent the armor plate, and then…she fell.

Jas could only watch the security hologram and wince. He had been under attack at the time and not been able to either stop her flight, or keep her from falling.

Oh Val, he thought.

I'm so sorry.

He was now standing in the director's office of the Aldera Security building. After being taken into custody, he had spent almost four hours in a holding cell.

At his side, stood Tup Secura, the Jedi watchman for Alderaan shook his head, the tips of his Lekku twitching slightly.

"I thought I told you to keep me in the loop," he said, "If you had a lead, we could have investigated this together, we might have prevented all this."

Again, Jas winced.

"We didn't have a lead," he answered, "We had a name, a location, and a warning that it was unlikely that the person we sought was even there."

Jas shook his head.

"How could we have guessed that a dark side assassin would be waiting at the slicer's home."

The holo rewound, the image of Val flying was replaced by a still imagine of the Tunroth, the Sunset Collective's Hand of the Faith.

Jas' eyes narrowed seeing her again, that cruel sneer, the icy look in her eyes as she dangled Val before him like a rag doll.

You will pay for that, he thought.

When next we meet, you won't have a chance to run away again.

Jas' hands curled into fists.

Next time…I will stop you.

The Twi'lek sensed his feelings, he gave him a curious look.

"You care greatly for this woman, this Char Valenthyne?"

"Of course, I care," Jas admitted, "Isn't compassion part of a Jedi's life?"

"Compassion, yes," Tup Secura agreed, "Attachment, no, these feelings will be your undoing if you let them. They will draw you closer to your fear…your anger."

Jas Dar Bynn took a deep breath, and let it out, Tup was not wrong, but he was not entirely right either.

He was no stary eyed youngling. He had faced his darkness before, heard its call. He was not foolish enough to think that he stood above it, but he could endure it.

He knew the risk of attachment, but he also knew the strength that it could bring. Having something to fight for, to have someone to fight for was a great motivator, and more to the point, he knew what would happen if he gave into his fear and anger, and how those he cared about would suffer.

He would not do that to them. It was the people in his life that kept him balanced; Coop, Randa, Vey, Mondar, even Val and Vess.

It was his attachment to them that kept him honest, those feelings had kept him grounded, they had always saved him…

…they had not condemned him…at least…not yet.

He continued to watch the hologram, perhaps looking for some kind of clue of what to do next. He was worried about Val, but recognized that there was nothing he could do for her, not at the moment.

She was being cared for, the doctors here on Alderaan were some of the best.

He tried to take solace in that.

IOI

Shortly, after his arrest, Jas had requested that the Aldera Security Force reach out to Tup Secura. Whether he realized it or not, the Twi'lek's life was in danger. Though Jas believed little the Hand had said, it was clear that he and Val were not the reason she had been waiting at the slicer's apartment.

It was apparent that the Sunset Collective wanted the Jedi Watchman dead; the only question now…was why?

How did killing him figure into their larger plans?

It had been something to contemplate while he had been processed by the Alderaani. From their reaction, it was clear that they weren't used to violence that had been perpetrated in the spacer's quarter tonight. They wanted answers.

Sadly, Jas knew little, he knew the who, but the why escaped him. Did this have something to do with Vess and the Bantoon Succession, or was it something else, something the Twi'lek Jedi was involved with, and had gotten the collective's attention?

Jas didn't know.

He wished he did.

He had been placed in a holding cell. He refused the chance to call a litigator, asking only that the Alderaani contact Master Secura, inform him that the Sunset Collective was active on Alderaan, and that the council needed to be informed.

Once that was done, all he could do was wait, wait and worry about Val. He inquired after her from the security people, but they had no news, and could only promise to contact the hospital, get an update for him on her condition.

And so…he sat and waited, not wishing to alienate the locals any more than he already had.

He could have escaped he supposed, used the Force to exit the building, and none would have been the wiser, but he had not.

He wasn't here as a smuggler, he was here as a Jedi, and an ally to House Rist.

It wouldn't have been smart just to walk out, not when he still hoped to get the cooperation from these people.

Plus, it was not like the Alderaani would need to go far to find him if he did leave. His first stop would have been the hospital, to check on Val.

As he waited, he meditated, reached out with the Force, trying to sense Val, get some kind of idea how she was doing.

Despite their strong connection, he felt nothing.

That worried him.

It worried him…a lot.

The security men who took him into custody had been surprisingly understanding, considering all the violence he had caused on their peaceful world. They had allowed him to use the Force to lower Val down from awning she had landed in, and see her safely to a medical gurney. They had also allowed him to try and stabilize her through the Force, at least until the med-techs had had her wired into a life support system.

Only when she was safely loaded in the med-speeder and on her way to the hospital did they insist he come with them. They took his lightsaber and put him in stun cuffs, but they were both polite and humane about it.

Other security people he had met in the past would have used his concern for Val against him, used it as a lever to get him to tell them what they wanted to know. The Alderaani weren't like that, they accepted when he told them "I don't know," or "I can only speculate."

It should have come as no surprise, he supposed, Alderaan had always revered the Jedi Order. Despite the questions they had for him, they respected his desire to cooperate, and not make any more trouble.

As they had taken him away, he had risked another glance up at the rooftop where his battle with the Tunroth had taken place. The Hand of the Faith was gone. The security men had not been able to stop her.

Damn it, Jas thought angrily.

Another chance to end the Collective was lost.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel as bad about it as he should have, in choosing between his enemy, and saving Val's life, there had been no contest.

Char Valenthyne was worth fifty Collective members. He only hoped that he had done enough.

Please be okay, Val, he prayed.

Please.

IOI

The Twi'lek's arrival had seen the end of his incarceration. The Alderaani had removed the stun cuffs, and returned his lightsaber.

Unsurprisingly, the Jedi Watchman was unhappy with Jas and Val's decision to go in alone. A fact that he had made abundantly clear from the moment he had seen Jas Dar Bynn sitting in a cell.

She was waiting for you, Jas informed him, "I think she wanted to kill you."

"I see," Tup Secura had responded, starring at the stilled holo of the Tunroth, looking at her cruel face.

"Isn't that interesting, he said.

As the two watched the image of the Hand of the Faith, a new file was overlayed with it. Jas recognized it immediately as one of the identification holos that were kept in the Jedi archives, he had had one himself taken years ago, before leaving on the ill-fated mission that started his life outside the order.

This hologram showed the Hand of the Faith, or rather, the Jedi that would one day become the Hand of the Faith. According to the date on the image, it had been taken almost fifteen years ago.

"Her name is Xarcce Tatch," Tup Secura informed him. "She was trained at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, became a full Jedi Knight at twenty-two, and vanished three years later, and has been presumed dead ever since."

Jas nodded as he looked at the holo. The Tunroth's face had not changed much over the years, even as a Jedi she had had that cruel arrogant smirk. According to her file, she had been reprimanded several times as a Padawan for her willingness to commit violence, and for her rather sharp tongue and brisk demeanor.

He frowned.

She had also received several commendations for valor and bravery in the field. Despite her rather prickly demeanor, her first three years as a full Jedi Knight had been exemplary. She had been a true guardian of the Republic.

So, what happened? He wondered.

What had turned Xarcce Tatch, Jedi Knight, to the dark side? What had remade her into the Sunset Collective's Hand of the Faith?

"Why haven't I seen this file, before?" Jas asked the Twi'lek, "I've spent the last five years on and off looking into the Sunset Collective and their members. I told the council about the Hand of the Faith, that she was a Tunroth, and that she claimed to be a Jedi, why was Xarcce Tatch not considered a suspect?"

"Because the file was closed," the Jedi informed him, "She was declared dead years ago. The ship she was on vanished, no survivors ever turned up."

Secura shrugged.

"Kind of hard for the dead to rise and start working as an enforcer for a group of dark side cultists."

Jas's frown deepened.

He found no amusement in this, none at all.

It had been almost ten years since the Sunset Collective's attack on the Kuat Drive Yards. Over two thousand Kuati had lost their lives that day, not to mention the millions of credits worth of damage to not only the shipyards, but the ships that had been in dry dock. In the years since, Jas had aided his friend, the Jedi Shadow, Mondar in investigating other collective attacks.

The Sunset Collective were no mere troublemakers, they were both religious zealots and professional anarchists. Many lives had been lost as they had continued to attack the Republic in the name of the Eternal Night.

What the Eternal Night was, he couldn't say, but, then again, he didn't need to.

The Collective needed to be stopped. What did their religious beliefs matter in the face of that?

"Why open the file now?" he inquired.

The Twi'lek gave him a toothy grin.

"Because of you, Jas Dar Bynn, we were able to link Tatch to this case through her DNA. The fingers you severed in the Spacer's Quarter provided us with enough of a sample for a genetic scan."

"So, we know her real name, now," he said, "Now all we have to do is figure out how all this ties into the situation on Bantoon."

"It is possible that it doesn't." Secura said with a shrug. "I've served on Alderaan for almost twelve years, first as a padawan, and then as a watchman."

The Twi'lek held up his hands.

"I've made many enemies over the years. Any of them could have hired Tatch to try and kill me. I may even have inadvertently involved myself in some scheme of this Collective of hers. This attempt may have nothing to do with Bantoon and House Rist."

"You maybe right," Jas admitted, "Collective involvement in the Bantoon situation is only a speculation, but considering the fact that she was waiting at the slicer Kyp Tobyn's home does suggest the possibility of it."

"Perhaps," The watchman agreed, "Of course, you are not the only one who has been looking into slicers behind the attack on Lady Istillo. It occurred to me that it was unlikely that the attackers had set up the jamming signal used in that job. I was working my way back through my own contacts. If one of my enemies had managed to get wind of what I was doing…"

Again, Jas nodded.

What Tup Secura said made sense. Though he was wrong about the Collective hiring out their hand. All evidence that he had seen in the last few years suggested that the Collective didn't work for pay. The chaos they caused was solely motivated by their religion.

"No, if the First Speaker had sent his Hand to Tobyn's it had something to do with the Collective's agenda, and no one else's."

Behind him, the watchman had begun to pace, he tapped idly at his chin with one long clawed finger.

"We still need to find Tobyn, he could shed much light on what is happening, I'm sure of it."

"If he is even still alive," Jas said morosely, "For all we know the Collective had him killed."

"I don't think so," Secura responded, "From the read I got on several of the Zeltron's things, it appears that he had fled some time ago, none of the impressions I had gotten on any of them suggested that he had come to any harm."

His admission gave Jas pause.

"Read?"

The Twi'lek smiled.

"I'm a psychometric," he informed Jas, "I can read items through the Force, get an idea of their history, and of the people that possessed them. It has served me well in the past, and been a great boon to my work."

Jas nodded.

He had heard of psychometrics, he had not been skilled in the art, himself, but knew of its existence.

A useful skill to possess, considering what role Tup Secura played here on Alderaan.

"Of course, Tobyn and Tatch aren't the only lead we can follow. We took one of the Collective members alive. We found him unconscious on the rooftop of the Spacer's Arms."

Jas's eyes widened.

"Alive," he said, "the Hand didn't kill him before she fled?"

"Maybe she assumed him dead, or in her rush to flee had been…"

"Where is he?" Jas asked.

"He is in central holding; the guards are watching him."

Come on," Jas said quickly.

"Why?"

"We have to get there…now."

"Why? What is going on?"

"Trust me, we can't wait!"

Tup Secura shrugged and followed after him.

"What is the hurry?"

"You'll see," Jas said, "I just hope we're not too late!"

The Alderaani cleared a path for them. Jas and Secura made there way to the area of the security station known as central holding.

The cell had only one occupant, the captured Collective member, the young man that Val had stunned during their fight on top of the Slicer's apartment building. He was laying on his side, appeared to be sleeping.

Damn it, Jas thought.

He ordered one of the guards to open the door, it took only a brief nod from Tup Secura to see Jas' command obeyed, he went up to the Collective man, though he already could sense what he would find.

He rolled the man over, and cursed under his breath.

Damn it!

Damn it all to hell!

The Collective agent still lived, but that was all, his mouth was covered in white froth, his eyes rolled back in his head.

Tup Secura looked down at the man unsure of what he was seeing.

"What happened?"

"Get a med-team up here now!"

Jas shook his head.

They could try, but it was pointless.

Damn it.

During his, and Mondar's, time investigating the Collective, one thing had become clear. Any Collective agent that they tried to take alive always had had a small amount of neuro-toxin on their person, usually hidden under a false fingernail or in a fake tooth.

All the Collective agent had to do was bite into it and that was it. The toxin attacked the brain, destroying the person's ability for thought or communication.

He would spend the rest of his life in a vegetative state.

The man would live, but he would likely need to be taken care of for the rest of his life. He would no longer be able to truly function.

Another dead end, Jas thought, I should have caught that. I should have insisted that the man be searched when he was brought in unconscious.

He sighed.

Well, too late now.

Damn.

The Jedi left the cell, there was nothing they could do for the Collective agent, he had probably downed the toxin the moment he had woken in custody.

They would get nothing out of him now.

Jas looked at Secura, he didn't blame the Twi'lek, by now he was used to the Collective's tricks.

"We need to find Kyp Tobyn."

The watchman nodded.

"We will, brother."

"We will."

IOI

Jas emerged from the security center to find that he had a speeder waiting.

Lady Dorma Rist and Vess stood before it.

Jas Dar Bynn winced.

He didn't look forward to this.

Lady Rist was dressed in a simple gown, common enough to the high born on Alderaan. Vess was in a blue blouse and black leggings, and…a familiar looking nerf-hide jacket. He might have been wrong, but he thought it was the one he had given the girl years ago. Of course, back then she had needed to roll up the sleeves, now it fit her almost perfectly, it was a little big for her lithe frame, but not too much.

I'm surprised she kept it all these years, he thought to himself.

The girl's eyes were red, it looked like she had been crying.

Jas felt a brief moment of panic!

Val?

"Ser Jas," Vess said and fell into his arms, hugging him tightly. The girl's fear and pain radiating out like a beacon.

He held her, being here, being held, it did have a calming effect on her.

Jas looked up at her foster mother.

"Val?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Alive," Dorma Rist replied, "Praise the gods."

Jas almost collapsed with relief.

Val was alive!

Thank the Force!

"We saw the security holo," Vess informed him, "We saw you reach out with your powers. You saved her!"

Jas winced.

"I didn't save her, she was still hurt," he said shaking his head, "I failed."

"Protector Valenthyne is still alive," Dorma Rist reminded him, "You didn't fail, Ser Jas."

Vess looked up at him again, she was smiling, with tears in her eyes.

"Praise the gods for you, Mister Jas, had you not been there?"

If I hadn't been there, Val wouldn't have either, he thought morosely.

She was hurt because of me, because I couldn't stop the Hand of the Faith.

He could barely look Vess in the eye.

He was…ashamed.

The girl looked up at him, her pretty blue eyes narrowed.

Vess wasn't Force sensitive, but maybe she didn't need to be, it wasn't like Jas was trying to hide his emotions.

"Stop that," she ordered, "Stop it right now."

"What?" he asked.

She was glaring at him.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened. Val understood she was walking into danger, and she accepted it. You did what you could to help her, all that you could have done."

Vess shrugged and looked away, her expression pained.

"If anyone is to blame it should be me. I know she was distracted by finding me at that club, maybe I shouldn't have snuck out in the first place. If she had been focused on her job…"

"It wasn't you either," Jas tried to assure her, "You had no idea what would happen, and Val wasn't distracted, trust me. The enemy we faced was not your typical assassin, there was little that she could have done."

Vess nodded, she still felt conflicted, but it was clear that his words had helped.

Jas smiled weakly.

It showed a surprising amount of maturity in the girl's admission, but he shouldn't have been surprised.

He still remembered the little girl she had been, her bravery, and that spine of durasteel he knew she possessed.

Vessaria Istillo was born to be a queen.

He didn't doubt that.

Dorma Rist smiled at her foster daughter, she radiated a sense of pride.

"The people of Bantoon have a saying Mister Jas, it goes back to the days of Bayla the Bold: Where there is life there is hope. Val still lives, and so do you."

Vess nodded, she backed away from him, and tapped Jas in the chest.

"This is hope, Mister Jas…feel it."

He smiled now, truly smiled.

Bann women, he thought.

They were so full of surprises. He had expected to be blamed for what had happened, but it seemed that that was not the case at all.

He was…grateful.

IOI

"Who is this person," Vess asked him, "and why does she want me dead?"

The three were riding in one of the Rist family's luxury air speeders, on there way back to the estate. Vess had apologized to her foster mother for sneaking out, and promised not to do so again.

The arrival of the Sunset Collective had changed things considerably.

Jas was not sure what to tell the two nobles.

You have to be truthful, his conscience reminded him.

Vess needs to understand just how high the stakes in this particular game have grown, it was no longer simply about the mining guild and their desires for Bantoon, darker forces had now taken an interest in Vess.

Powerful dark forces.

"The creature that attacked Val and I was once a Jedi Knight," he informed him, "She has fallen to the dark side now, her powers corrupted and turned to serve evil."

Vess' brow furrowed.

"A sorcerer knight, like you, only evil…"

Vess' eyes widened.

"She is like the Reevan isn't she?"

Jas raised his hands.

The Reevan, or the Sith, as he knew them had conquered Bantoon during the Jedi Civil War three centuries ago. In the years since, the Sith had become a sort of bogeymen to the people of Bantoon.

Jas wanted Vess to be careful, but not to think that the monsters of her childhood nightmares were after her.

The Sith had died out years ago, their order had perished with Revan and Malak's defeat.

If the galaxy was lucky, and the Force was with them, the Sith would never return.

"The Sith, or the Reevan, as you call them drew on the same powers that the Sunset Collective now worships, but they are not Sith themselves, the one that attacked Val and I is a dark jedi, but she is hardly worthy of the title of dark lord."

"That does not make her any less dangerous, does it, Ser Jas?" Dorma asked him.

He flinched.

"No, milady," he was forced to admit, "It doesn't."

The noble nodded.

"Surely, this will be enough to bring the Jedi Order in on our side. The fact that this dark warrior is trying to involve herself in the succession is proof that Vess' claim must be honored."

Jas shook his head.

If only it was that easy.

Truth be told, they weren't sure why the Sunset Collective were here. Secura might have been right, that the Hand had simply taken advantage of a situation to strike at him.

They would know more when they found Kyp Tobyn. The Zeltron would hopefully be able to shed more light on the subject, in the meantime…the Collective's motives remained…a mystery.

If the Jedi did use this as an excuse to get involved, Jas was concerned that it would not be on the side of Vess and House Rist.

Then there was the Senate, and their desire to see this matter handled, that was, after all, the reason why Jas had come here in the first place, Sy Dar Bynn's arrival was still almost a week away, but it was going to happen.

Jas' twin brother still expected to arrive and find Vess ready and willing to abdicate the throne to her aunt. It was a goal that Jas was even more against now.

In all the excitement he had not really gotten a chance to talk to Vess about this.

He sighed.

There would never be a good time for such news.

He might as well get it over with now.

He sighed.

"If only it was that easy," he said, "I fear that the Republic has its own ideas of what is best for Bantoon."

"What do you mean, Mister Jas?" Vess asked.

"Indeed, Ser Jas, please, speak plainly," Dorma Rist insisted.

He shook his head.

This would not be easy for either of them to hear.

At least, they were both sitting down.

IOI

By the time that they arrived back at the estate, Jas had finished telling the two nobles all he knew about his brother Sy, and the request he had made of his twin brother.

Again, he had feared that they would think him either a spy or a traitor; that they would blame him for what his twin wanted, and suspect that he was more involved in their troubles than he truly was.

Again, he was surprised.

"I agreed to speak with you, that was all," he assured them, "but the longer I've been here, the more certain I am that what the Senate wants for your world is not necessarily what is best for your people."

Vess beamed at him.

"So, you have come to help us?"

He nodded.

Vess turned to Lady Dorma.

"You see Aunt Dorma, I knew we were right to trust, Mister Jas."

"Is there any way that you can think of that might convince your brother to support Vess? You are twins after all."

"Once I would have thought it possible, but now…so much time has passed, and the distance between my brother and I has grown so much."

Jas nodded.

"I will try, but I can't promise much, Sy always had his own mind when he came to things he wanted."

The speeder came to a stop, they were met by Dorma's husband. He kissed his wife, and embraced his foster daughter.

He turned to Jas Dar Bynn.

"Miss Valenthyne is safely in our med bay," he informed the Jedi, "She is out of the kolto tank, but the medical droids believe it wise to keep her in a medically induced coma, at least for now."

Jas nodded.

It was better safe than sorry, he…

The commlink on Errol Rist's arm beeped. He acknowledged it, listening into his earpiece.

He turned to Jas with a frown.

"We have a ship coming in, they approach claiming to be here under the orders of Captain Cooper."

Jas frowned.

Coop had said he was sending Jas some back up.

"Have you identified the ship?"

Lord Rist nodded.

"It's transponder signal identifies it as the True Justice."

Jas blinked.

The True Justice?

His expression turned sour.

Coop, he thought.

What in the name of the Force were you thinking?!

"Do you know this ship, Ser Jas?" Dorma asked him.

"I do," he said grimly, shaking his head.

"Please give her clearance to land, I will meet her on the landing pad."

Errol Rist nodded while Jas made his way forward, on his way to the landing pad.

Vess went with him.

"You seem worried," she asked, "What is it?"

Jas snorted.

Coop's idea of help, he thought.

His clan brother had an interesting sense of humor, he would give him that.

"Help," he informed Vess.

At least, he hoped that she could be considered help.

The small vessel was given clearance to land on the freight pad where the Coop's Folly had touched down days ago. As Jas emerged with Vess at his side, the True Justice screamed over the mountains, buzzing the platform and shattering the air over the mountains with sonic booms.

Jas rolled his eyes.

Show off.

The ship banked and made its final approach.

The True Justice was a modified courier ship, outfitted for both speed and long hyperspace jumps. Its triangular solar panels began to fold in and together as the ship fired its repulsor lifts. The round forward cockpit and large eye-like viewport standing out quite distinctly on such a small craft. The long rear section of the vessel contained both its hyperdrive, and military grade shield generator, six cargo pods of various sizes had been grafted onto this section of the ship. Though it was not designed with traditional cargo in mind.

People were stored in those containers when the ship was traveling, or as they were called in the hunter's trade, either assets or simply hard merchandise.

Ja frowned.

He had almost found his way into one of those cargo pods once. He had almost become hard merchandise to the pilot of this ship.

He pitied any poor soul that had in the years since.

The ship touched down lightly, and the top hatch hissed open, rather than emerge like a normal person, the pilot shot out of the cockpit like a blaster bolt. She turned her leap into a mid-air flip and came down in front of Jas Dar Bynn and Vess Istillo."

Jas managed a smile. He was trying to be polite.

"Hello Fallenstar."

The bounty hunter was dressed in her usual garb, the black leather armored coat, slit open red skirt and thigh high boots. Her blue lightsaber was clipped to her belt.

She gave him her most manic grin.

"Hey there, boss," she exclaimed, looking around excitedly.

"Captain Cooper said you needed me to play bodyguard, huh?"

She looked at Vess and curtseyed politely.

"Mirax Fallenstar, milady, former Jedi, and member in good standing of the Bounty Hunter's guild."

Jas gave her a curious look.

"Good standing?"

She bobbed her head excitedly.

"You would be surprised what sins will be forgiven when you pay your guild master enough, even some of my more…youthful indiscretions have been overlooked."

Jas shook his head.

Considering the fact that Fallenstar murdered a whole team of her fellow hunters on Corellia, youthful indiscretions were not the words he would use to describe her past actions.

And this was the help that Coop had sent him?

Wonderful!

Jas sighed.

He could just imagine how the Twi'lek would react when he heard about this.

Jas shook his head.

Tup Secura was going to love this.