New Chapter up. Thanks for reading.
When Theron landed on Diiranon, he was relieved to see Kia's ship waiting. He wasn't sure if he had interpreted the Jedi's message correctly. He didn't know Kia very well, but if she were anything like her twin, she'd get the point he had been trying to make with his original message. He had gotten a reply which said "not a long stay" and nothing else.
He and Kia had spent three days on Diiranon the first time around. He was hoping her message meant she'd meet him there in three days. It was nice to know their cryptic messages to each other had been interpreted correctly.
Theron left his ship, unarmed, and headed towards the area a few yards away, where the planet's sea met the forest. He didn't feel the need to carry a blaster, not that it would do him any good anyway. In this situation, he was at a severe disadvantage. Even with his advanced hand to hand training, Kia would still be armed with the Force. He'd be no match for her, but she was a Jedi. She'd talk before fighting.
At least he hoped so. He did try to kill her twin sister. Jedi weren't ones to hold a grudge, but you never could tell. Kia wasn't a normal Jedi and she didn't follow the Order's usual rules close enough to be certain of anything.
He emerged on the beach and saw Kia sitting quietly on a rock formation by a stand of tall, dense trees. She sat with her back to him, seemingly in some type of meditative state. He approached her, making more noise than usual, just so she'd know he was there, even if she didn't sense him through the Force.
"I see you understood my message." Kia said, not turning around.
"I'm glad to see you understood mine, as well. I wasn't sure, but I couldn't think of a better way to set up a meeting with you without alerting anyone."
Kia stood and began walking towards Theron. Theron's jaw dropped. Kia was most definitely pregnant, her loose robes not hiding anything.
"You're pregnant." Theron said after a very long pause.
"Very astute of you, Theron." She placed her hands on her enlarged stomach protectively. "We'll talk about this after you tell me what you've gotten yourself into. I'm assuming you're not here to harm me, because that wouldn't end well for both of us."
"I just need to talk to you. I need you to tell your sister I'm doing what's best for everyone, not just the Alliance. She needs to trust me."
"Why should she? You did try to kill her."
"I set up the situation in a way I knew she'd be able to survive. I needed my betrayal to look authentic. That damn Gemini droid was watching everything we said and did. I had to do what I did to convince the order of Zildrog to trust me, so I could get in close and learn their plans."
"And what are their plans?" Kia asked.
"Zildrog isn't just some mythical god. It's actually an AI. A machine made on Iokath that the emperor hid away. It has the power to destroy everything, not just the Alliance. You can't tell her any of this. It would be too risky, since the Gemini droid seems to see everything when there is any technology around, but I need you to convince her to follow my breadcrumbs and for her to trust me."
"And you're talking to me, not just because I happened to know a place where no one would be able to eavesdrop, but also because I'm a Jedi and would know if you're lying."
Theron nodded. "Also because you're empathic. No amount of training would allow me to deceive you."
Kia looked at Theron. He was being honest, but the part of the conversation which made the most impact was the fact he was scared. He was hiding it well, but the man was genuinely terrified. This Zildrog had to be one hell of a threat to actually scare a man like Theron. "I believe you. What do you want me to do?"
"Can you talk to your sister? Tell her to trust me without actually saying it?"
I nodded. "Easily."
Theron's fear diminished slightly. He felt relieved.
"You'd better work all this out soon. I fully expect you to be a part of these babies' lives, since you're their older brother."
"Babies? Twins? Malcom's the father?" Theron asked.
Kia frowned at Theron. "Of course he's the father! How many men do you think I'm sleeping with?"
"Sorry, I just wanted to be sure. I didn't want to assume."
"In a few months you're going to have a baby brother and sister, so you're not allowed to die doing any of this crazy spy stuff. And, you're not allowed to kill Mia, either. Do you understand me?"
"I'll do my best."
"You damn well better." Kia returned to the rock formation and sat down. "I'm assuming you told your new friends you were coming to meet me?"
"I told them I got a message from you and you wanted to talk. I told them I planned to bring you in, so they can use you to get to your sister."
Kia chuckled. "They don't know Jedi very well, do they? If they expect you to try to capture me, we need to make it at least look like you tried."
Without warning, Kia reached out with the Force, lifted Theron off his feet and flung him against one of the larger trees, impacting it with his shoulder.
"Now, you'll have a bruise to go with the story."
Theron got up, rubbing his left arm. He was definitely going to have a good sized bruise, though he could tell she had flung him in such a way that he'd only have a bruise and no other injuries. "That's actually good thinking."
Kia winced in pain, and rubbed a hand over her stomach.
"Are you alright?" Theron asked with genuine concern, taking a tentative step closer to Kia.
Kia smiled up at him. "I'm fine. The kids didn't like me beating up on you. Not to worry, Loves, I'm not hurting your big brother, just helping him trick some bad people."
Theron took a few steps closer. "If you're this pregnant, I'm surprised Malcom let you come out here alone."
"He didn't. He's on my ship, waiting for me to signal him through the Force if I need help. Son or not, he'd be very unhappy if this had been a trap. He might not be able to use a blaster, but he's still very good with a vibroblade and his fists."
"Well, getting sliced up or beaten to death by my own father is not on my agenda for today, so I'll let you get back to him. Just don't…"
"I won't tell him anything. I'll get the message to Mia and go home. I'm almost too far along to be traveling anyway. My doctor is going to kill me for missing an appointment. Apparently, mixed heritage twins are very rare and can cause complications. Not to mention getting pregnant so close to recovering from almost dying wasn't ideal."
"Just be careful. Hopefully, your sister will help get this mess sorted out and we'll all live to meet the newest additions to our odd little family."
Kia laughed, struggling to stand back up. Theron hurried the last few steps to help her to her feet.
"We will have a very interesting family dynamic, that's for sure."
Kia smiled at him one last time, then headed for her ship. Theron took a seat on the rock, still rubbing his aching shoulder, until the ship rose into the air and was gone.
"Big Brother." He said to himself. He hadn't expected to have any siblings, considering the careers and ages of his parents, but he found he was happy about the development. "I can do Big Brother, I think."
He stood and returned to his ship, more determined than ever to get himself and everyone else out of this situation alive.
To Be Continued...