Disclaimer: Really? You need me to tell y ou I don't own the characters from Victorious and Star Wars.
:}
Jade had the entirety of their trip to ponder every promise the spirit made. 'Am I really this needy?' She asked herself. 'I mean, I want love, at least someone to give a damn about me, but am I ready to do this, potentially die, just for his love? Or am I doing this because I stopped caring about myself a long, long time ago.'
Jade knew that answer. 'I want my father to value me. This whole mess, it's been heart breaking, knowing how little I mean to him. Yet, at the same time, he needs me. He wants me around. I've managed to be something other then a disappointment to him. Hell, he noticed me, and I didn't have to do anything wrong to get that much. No, while it hurts, this is probably the best I've had my entire life.' The pale girl realized her reasons for fighting, and used that hurt, that resolve, to harden herself for the battle to come.
"Jade!" Barons voice once again reverberated in her subconscious. "Listen, this is wrong."
"Baron?" Jade asked, even as she knew she didn't have to talk. 'Did I fall asleep?'
"You're my sister." The younger West said. "If we're related, it's easier to reach out and make contact. You just have to calm yourself, let me touch you, and we're in communication." There was a feeling of warmth Jade didn't quite recognize, even as she realized she'd always felt it.
'Baron loves me.' The truth hit her, almost unbalancing her current resolve. 'I've always knows, he loves me. Damn it, he loves me, and somehow I never quite understood, this is what it feels like. Damn, I am loved.' She still didn't quite believe, even as she felt it echoing through her soul.
"You finished?" The boy asked, even as a projection of the young man appeared in her mind. "I'm calling because THIS is the time to change that negative belief. You are love-able. You can be loved, are worthy of love, and get this through that cold heart, you're full of it. You've always been full of it." Jade was sure she saw him smirking. "Look, I can laugh at this later. Right now, you need to learn. The way of the Sith is to harness the power of their emotion. Far too often it's their hate, but even the softer, kinder emotions can lead them down to the darkness. However, Earth Philosophy teaches many things, and the one I've learned from watching Kung fu movies is most of them use blood spattered revenge as the main plot. That, and the idea that a master can have their emotion, feel it, live it, and still let their mind control them. That is the sign of a mater, someone who's spent a lifetime mastering their own emotions. You, sis, you don't have time for that, so we'll just work on how to channel the positive to counter the negative."
Jade smiled at her brother, even as she wondered, given the time it would take to get to this station, if she had nearly enough time to undertsand what he was saying, let alone learn it. However, Baron wouldn't give her the time. Inside, she felt herself slipping into a trance, the training space she'd been to so many times in her youth. Time blurred as her body tensed, then her body relaxed, and the world slipped away.
Jade came too in time to see the world flash back into reality, dropping out of hyper. From her spot in the cockpit, Jade saw the edge of a large asteroid field, heading right towards them. Jade could see it, on the monitor of the ship, the path they'd laid into the field. It was some kind of passage, generated through the use of tractor beams and deflector fields, that held open the way to the station. Around that path, asteroids flew in their random orbits, threatening all who hadn't snagged the frequency of that passage with imminent death. 'Great, what a thing to wake up to.' Jade thought, even as the ship slid into the generated path, and was immediately a target. "Dad, how're we approaching?"
"I mentioned I could get us in, right?" Grey asked. "And it's Master. Until this mission is over, I'm still your master."
"Okay, master, they can see us, right?" Jade questioned. "So, why aren't they shooting us out of space. In this path, we're an easy, open target."
"They're gonna let us land." Grey informed her. "I've still got contacts in the underworld, and this base, it was built by underworld figures. They're the one's who figured out how to generate the tractor fields that keep the other asteroids away, thus allowing ships to approach. Thing is, I assumed the dark Order wouldn't change the system, cause why recalculate everything. Instead, they left themselves vulnerable to those of us who had backdoor access to the com system for the station. Right now, they see the Beetle as a smuggler who's on rout to the station, and all we need to do is bluff the command tower and we can land, no problem."
"And why would they let us land?" Jade pushed.
"To find out the backdoor that let us know about the access path." Malcolm said. "Far easier to find it by questioning us. And get this, I'll give it to them. No questions, I will give it to them, cause why not? After this, we won't be able to use it anyways."
"Then how do we rescue the princess?" Jade asked. 'And when will I get used to calling Trina that? I mean, Vega, that was an easy enough nickname, but Trina? Girls may be like her sister, but she comes across more as a schemer, getting things by deceit. Not my image of a spoiled princess, though it would explain her attitude….'
"Baron told me we beat Trina and Beck here." The Gray Knight told his apprentice. "Somehow, they took longer to get here, and while the Beetle is a fast ship, and this was over a days travel from the Star Destroyer, we still should have been trailing them. So, we land, bluff our way through, and then slip away while the guards think we're contained. No one is looking for the beetle, or they shouldn't be, so this plan has a great chance of working."
"And if they are?" Jade asked.
"Then we go to plan B, and escape the path, fly around until we find the back door, and fight our way in." Mal said, still calm. "I just didn't want to tip our hand at how good a plot you've become. No, right now, we get into character. I'm a smuggler, and your my crew. Let them think what they want about our relationship. Once on board, we let them lock us in a room, and go from there. I have other secrets about that place they have no idea about, so we should be able to slip away unnoticed."
The ship was quickly caught in a tracker beam, pulled towards the huge station. The asteroid in question was huge, but in an odd shape, fifteen miles at it's longest access, while still over a four at it's smallest. Withing those megatons of rock and minerals they'd built the base, with all it's amenities, weapons, and at that moment, uncountable troopers. Jade watched the small piece of rock grow, already aware of how small it would soon make their tiny ship feel.
The com unit blared to life, alerting the two that a call was coming in. "Rogue ship, identify yourself."
"This is the Stellar Grasshopper." Jade replied, her voice smooth as silk. "Um, not to make too fine a point of it, but who's in charge? Is it still the Huts?" She glanced at her father, who had tried to come up with this lie well in advance, but somehow had forgotten to fill in nearly enough details.
"No, the station is under new management." The voice on the com said. "So, given that we'd changed all the frequencies, how'd you know where the access path was?"
"I'd love to tell you, 'cept we kinda need repairs." Jade improvised. She had the basics, but felt they'd need to add some details to be far more believable. "So, we don't have much options but to land there, maybe barter for what we need, and to do that, we kinda wanna make sure we do land. I know you have guns on us right now, and given that you can't be sure who else knows about this path, or how to find the station, I think you'd be wanting to pull us in, barter what we know in return for your help."
"What class of ship is that?" The voice asked.
Malcolm had the answer already, showing the girl. "It's a stellar explorer class runabout, converted to a light freighter." Jade answered. "Not the most popular ship, but it has enough cargo for our needs, and with mods, it's fast. So, you can pull us in or shoot us out of space, but if you choose the latter, we die knowing how we found you, and you get to spend who knows how long looking before the next people show up. Course, maybe you're almost done, or wanna go public? I donno, so…?" Her voice held more then just bravado. She deliberately mixed in just a touch of fear, projecting the character, making it as real to her as it had to be to the man on the other end of that communication.
Several moments passed, with the ship being pulled ominously closer to the station. Then, just before Jade gave up and tried something new, the com unit blared on again. "This data had better be legit."
"It's worth our weight in spice, I assure you." Jade said.
"Any cargo?" The man asked.
"Nothing but personal stuff." Jade cursed herself for almost using Hollywood Arts slang. To the listener, her words flowed effortlessly. "We kinda had a rough escape from Delnar two." Jade watched her dad, knowing she had to say things just right. His curt nod confirmed she'd mentioned the planet correctly. 'If dad's right, then that place is just outside the empires control. Crime lords are supposed to rule that place. That means, our story sounds correct, and we're legitimately here, hoping a different crime lord is willing to ignore a possible bounty cause he hated the whomever we may be running from.
"Well, smuggler, we're gonna be checking your ship, making sure." The voice said. "In that time, you give us the codes you used, and we'll check that out too."
"And when everything checks out?" Jade asked. "I'm thinking then, we get help fixing our ship, and maybe an offer of employment, cause we've proven we can be trusted. Once bought, we stay bought."
"Not my call." The man on the other end said. "Relax and let us pull you in, landing bay seventy nine, dock fifteen."
"Like that makes a difference." Jade confirmed. "Kay, the ships not resisting, pull away."
The next sixty seconds passed with them being engulfed by the mammoth docking bays, pulled to the appropriate spot, and locked into place. "Now Jade, we're going to have to think of a way to unhook before we leave." Grey told his child. "Can't count on the force, cause we'll probably be exhausted by then. So, suggestions?"
"Maybe we could risk hacking their system?" Jade asked. "You said Three could do that, right?"
"That was my original plan." The Gray Knight agreed. "Pity, I wanted alternatives. We'll just have to wing it. Guessing that's our strong point by now."
"Lets get into character." Jade told her dad. "Remember, this is method acting. We're gonna be these people until we're not, got it?"
"Then understand, to them, you're just a pilot I hired." Mal reminded his child. "A good pilot, but that's it to me. We get in a spot, you're on your own."
"So some things never change, right?" She joked, even as the ship locked into place, and the door slid open. "Game faces, we're on."
A dozen armed and armored storm troopers stormed the ship, blasters pointing at the crew. Jade and her father made a big deal of surrendering, each pointing to where their weapons had been hidden. Grey had taken the precaution of having their lightsabers dismantled, just enough, and hidden away on their persons. Jade wasn't sure it'd fool the guards, except it did, and after a rough search that Jade felt blurred the lines with sexual assault, they were escorted to a room to wait.
"Okay, Captain..." An officer asked. His eyes drifted up Jade's body, letting her know he was doing more then appreciating her.
"West." Malcolm filled in. "Theodore West. This is my backup pilot and general worker, Nancy Swain."
Jade was surprised he even knew that name, but relaxed into the familiar of that character. "So, Nancy, you want thing to go easy, maybe you get friendly?" The officer asked.
"What she does on her own time is her business." Malcolm snapped. "However, we had a deal, of sorts, with the station, and expect that to be honored. Please have your superior and a couple of his tech people come here so we can give them the information they desired. Then maybe we can get the Grasshopper fixed, and be on our way."
Jade smirked, but turned away to feign embarrassment, so as not to show her contempt for the obvious attempt to leverage a small amount of station against her. The officer glared at Grey, but backed down. "Sure, stay here, and we'll get to you, eventually."
They were left, locked in, in what appeared to be some kind of meeting room. "Not even a refresher, huh?" Malcolm asked, smiling. "Figures. Probably gonna make us wait extra long, which is good for us. That means we won't have to wait for the officer to show up before we start the next part of our mission."
"Except we don't know where Trina is yet." Jade countered. "Lets give Three a chance to find out, then we can do the mission. Until then, lets relax, cause we have time."
The droid contacted them via a secured and scrambled com unit Control had acquired for Grey a long time ago. Jade had been informed that, unless they knew what they were looking for, to the Dark Order, it would sound like background static. "Three let us know that the princess is expected to arrive soon." Grey said. "So, might as well find out where they're gonna take her and…." His face paled as he felt the same thing Jade did. The two Gray knights had pulled in, hiding their essences in the force. That had the effect of also making it harder for them to sense if another force user was near by. However, a Sith, or similar darksider, close enough, powerful enough, was hard to miss unless they were also cloaking their essence. This one wasn't.
"DAD…..!" Jade hissed, feeling the raw evil this man represented. She felt more, getting an idea of who and what he represented. This was a man, she could taste that in his essence, who had mistaken the Sith ways of passion to represent anger. Anger and the constant pursuit of power, and the expense of nearly everything else, this man was worse then she ever imagined her father to be. And as she soaked in this strangers aura, she knew, deep inside, this was the enemy they had to destroy. She was drifting towards the door, ready to cause a commotion, when her fathers hand dropped to her shoulder, stopping her with a firm grip.
"Do you feel it?" The Grey knight asked. "Do you feel his agitation? He's here, waiting for the princess. This man, this… This is Lord Smyde, counselor to the emperor, and claimant to the throne. This is the man who's been pushing for war, had my princess exiled, did so much to hurt everyone, just to get closer to the throne. Of course he'd fall to the dark side, assuming he could even feel the force. So why is it I never felt him before? Why is it I never knew what kind of man he was?"
"Because he knows the same tricks we do." Jade answered, knowing her father didn't want answers, just to understand. "He hid himself from those who might expose him, because this power, it's his ace in the hole. This is what he intended to use in emergencies, and until such time, better to let the Jedi and the Imperial Guard think he's just a rebel, some political hack who is trying to maneuver his way to more power."
"The Sith do teach patience, an interesting tack for an order dedicated to serving their passions." Lord Grey admitted. "So your theory makes sense. Yes, we have to destroy that man, and we will, but saving the princess, that takes priority, at the cost of our lives if need be. So, where is she...'
Jade felt it, Trina, along with another darkness that invaded the landing bays, some distance from their location. Only, she couldn't tell her father, because at that moment, the door opened and the officer of the day entered.
"Mister West, if you don't mind, a moment of your time." The Dark order officer opened. "Now, I understand you're probably anxious to get done and out of here, but there's gonna be a delay before we can work on your ship. In fact, there's gonna be a delay before we can properly act on whatever information you have for us. So, if you'll come with me..." He gestured to the hallway, where half a dozen Stormtroopers had assembled.
Mal and Jade allowed themselves to be transferred, with Mal eyeing the room they were leaving with a fair amount of apprehension. Jade could feel it, but understood it was familial connection, plus having grown up with the man, that let her know his concerns. 'His secret way out was in that room.' She figured.
The guard walked them to a turbolift, and from there they whisked off to some room towards the edge of the station. From there, it was a short walk to the room they'd been assigned. Small, with two bunks for them to sleep in, it also had the required refresher, the only amenity they'd be given. "If you're hungry, there's food in that cabinet right there. I'm afraid it's rations, but hay, better then nothing, right?" The officer smiled. "There's gonna be a guard outside, in case you need anything. Please, enjoy our hospitality, and we hope to be ready for you in the near future."
With that, the door slid shut, and Malcolm relaxed. "There's an access in this room too."
"Access?" Jade asked. "You know what? Forget it. We have a long way to go, and two darksiders around Trina and Beck. We need to get moving."
"We have time." Lord Grey assured her. "When this base was built, they installed jefferies tubes throughout, even though modern droid technology has made such accesses obsolete. See, when they built the place, they wanted escape tunnels everywhere, and so acted like they needed maintenance tunnels for the electrics and similar things, large enough for an astromech droid, thus the tubes. What they really were was a means of escape if the base was taken. I doubt the Dark Order knows the true purpose of the tubes, or that every room has some way of getting in. We just need to find the way in for this room, and we're on our way."
"We gonna crawl our way to the princess?" Jade asked, pulling components out of her bag, off her person, and out of the box her dad had brought. Her father was mirroring her actions, and the two assembled their lightsabers, ready for combat.
"That depends, did you snag an ID when you had the chance, or did I waste my money sending you to learn slight of hand?" The father asked.
Jade sighed, and produced the stolen ID. "This will work as long as we just need a quick access to a lift or something." Jade told her dad. "Think we'll make it to the princess?"
"To? Yes, we should." Mal noted. "Now lets get to work. We need to find us an access point."
The Wests worked quickly, feeling the second Sith move towards the first while they frantically searched for the exit they knew existed. Luckily for them, the Dark Order had either not found the tubes, or hadn't bothered doing anything to restrict access, because after a few minutes Malcolm, who knew what he was looking for, found the access hidden behind a desk. Working together, they moved the desk, and pried the small door open, revealing a tube just large enough for a man to crawl through. Next, the two of them raced, as quickly as they could, down the tube towards the first darksider.
"This is taking too long." Jade groused.
"It'll be quick enough, for now." Lord Grey assured her. "We get out ahead, and use the turbolift to get closer. Then, we use the tubes to get to the princess, and find some way to protect her while we deal with whomever's behind this."
"I thought you said..." Jade started.
"I did, but I can be wrong." The gray knight told her. "Now, quiet. The walls aren't soundproof enough, and we don't need to be heard."
:}
So, closing in on the rescue. And we have Sith. Thinking things will soon get complicated. If only Mal were better at planning, but that just doesn't seem to be his style now, does it. Then again, a guard needs to be able to react and adjust, so….
Thoughts?