Last time: Cien's armor was forged and Kyr gave her his heart.
Now: It's time to hunt a witch.
Chapter 17- Taking Down Ikari
Dear Admiral Sn'Ackbar sir,
I write to inform you of the imminent beheading of an Imperial Remnant that has been building itself up for the last several years, and will be forwarding you the coordinates for a disabled Star Destroyer once we have them, and which will have a great deal of intelligence for the rest of their forces since it is operating as their flagship. This is Moff Jiardon's squadron, the one that escaped to the UR, and we would appreciate being able to hand the mop up work to you or one of your underlings after we deliver this generous prize to you. The 19th Tactical Response Wing should be able to handle this. Really anyone except Lando, he doesn't need to have the credit for this. And I still have the better cape, anyway. The Destroyer is operating in the vicinity of the attached coordinates, so if you could have them standing by in the same sector for quick response, that would make you a real chum.
With regards,
Col. Kyr, (Semi Ret.) - your favorite bucket head
P.S. If you see General Organa before I do, tell her that I found 'her', and that she was right. She'll know what I mean.
A little more than a month later, they heard the muted sounds of their magnetized boots thudding against the hull of the Star Destroyer. Cien had quickly been able to master her suit with help from Kyr, though she was still getting used to all it could do. But it felt comfortable, like a second skin. Unlike him, though, she did not wear it all the time, taking it off to be more comfortable at the end of the day, and only wearing it to train or when it felt necessary. He didn't care, that was up to her and she looked beautiful either way.
They had spent the last month gathering intelligence in addition to her training, and they had determined which Star Destroyer Ikari had taken for her own. They had been able to hide on the side of a supply ship as it rendezvoused with the destroyer, and had jetted over to the hull before it had docked. They were making the kilometer long walk along the underside and trying to be careful of being seen from any viewports.
"You never realize how big these things are until you have to do this." Cien said next to him.
He looked over at her and laughed. That almost sounded like something he would say. She had been adopting a much more relaxed attitude of late, and he was glad to see her loosening up so much. To be living instead of simply being alive.
He looked across the underside of the ship, it was like a barren moonscape. From far away it looked so smooth, but up close it was a patchwork of thick armor plating, housing for equipment, little ports here and there for this or that.
"Yeah, just wait till we get to the back and have to go between the engine shrouds, those are quite a sight when you stand next to them."
"Is this how you did it last time?" She asked.
"Kind of, yeah." Kyr said distantly as he continued to trudge. "Last time, I was alone, though, and I was doing it to avenge my family instead of protect it." He said.
She reached over and squeezed his hand. "I wasn't sure if you were going to stay with me once you thought I had… gone. I wasn't sure you would understand and not run off with the others. I was afraid," she paused, "afraid it would be the last time I'd ever see you." She admitted quietly. "I'm glad to not be doing this alone."
He thought back to seeing the illusion of her death, and how empty he had felt afterward. He wasn't sure he would ever admit to her that he had stayed not because he understood her message in some way, but because leaving her side then had seemed so hollow. Either way, he was simply happy that things had worked out.
"I'm glad you're not either." He said quietly.
She brushed her hand along his arm.
They approached the back side and carefully worked their way over the edge. The ion engines were still activated, casting out a deadly stream of plasma. They were careful to avoid them, albeit the housings were huge, and avoiding something that was the size of a ship like these engine housings was not terribly hard. They walked between the port side main thruster and the two smaller thrusters that were between it and the center main thruster, picking their way over all the various equipment and conduits. Since they were in the sensor shadow of the ship, they were able to use their jetpacks to move faster, speeding between the engines and going over the underside to the base of the spine. From there they had a relatively short walk to get to the garbage hatch.
"So they dump garbage every time they enter hyperspace? We're not going to be stuck out here when they jump?" Cien asked, again. She knew the plan and procedures inside and out, but it still struck her as odd. She had never had to deal with the minutiae of how garbage was ultimately dealt with on a ship like this, so learning that bit of procedure had been surprising to her. And she still worried a bit that it wouldn't work. Kyr did a little as well, since this was very risky. He wasn't quite sure what would happen if they were caught out here during a hyperspace jump.
"Yeah, every kilogram costs fuel to take into hyperspace, so they evacuate all the, uh… tanks, and dump all the garbage." He said. "In an emergency they'll jump immediately, but during routine operations like this, they'll prep for the jump and dump anything extra overboard."
She nodded in her buy'ce and surveyed the hatch again, still not sure. She felt for the familiar feeling of her saber at her side, and looked through the systems of her suit like Kyr had directed, making sure everything was ready. She still had 87% of her air supply, plenty of time in that regard. In an emergency they might be able to run to one of the view ports and cut their way in. Kyr's method would be much quieter, though. Her fighter was nearby, following stealthily at a distance. They had linked it to her gauntlet, so she would be able to call it to them when they were ready to leave.
"So what does this make us?" She said with an amused smile.
"What?" Kyr asked, looking over at her.
"If we're going into the garbage chute, what does that make us?"
She could feel the smile on him as he chuckled, and she turned away, enjoying the starscape around them. Standing here with Kyr, near the end of this journey with him, she couldn't help but think of what may yet be. Thinking of going back to Haven after this, and having to see Sasha and Viran and Oppie again, after their apparent death. She had not had any chance to talk with Sasha after their failed escape. And while their time together had affirmed their friendship, she wasn't sure how she might react. Oppie had already made it clear he was fine with her, but she was mostly worried about Viran. She wasn't sure she could ever do anything to make him not hate her, and she could accept that. But it gnawed at her.
"You okay?" Kyr asked at her side, somehow noticing her sudden turn to melancholy underneath her suit.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking about after this, how the others will react." She said, looking away.
"They'll be fine. They'll be happy to see us. Op will probably make cookies, Viran will be Viran" he said around a grimace. "And Sash'ika will be happy we're back from the dead. Wouldn't be the first time. She may kill us again, though." He added. Then a thought occurred to him, "how does Sasha not know you're okay? She said she could sense you?" He asked, he hadn't really thought of it before.
"I'm blocking us off so Ikari can't sense us, but Sasha can't find us either." Cien answered. "She could probably find me if she really tried, but she doesn't have a reason to." She finished, feeling guilty. At least this was almost over, and they would be able to reveal themselves. "What do you mean 'wouldn't be the first time'?" She asked, looking back at Kyr.
Kyr looked back to her. "Oh, on Arbortarum when the Star Destroyers made their final push I uh... Kinda died. Sasha brought me back to life with some red lightning or something." He mumbled. He didn't want to trouble her with it.
She stared at him, remembering that day so long ago. "You died?" She said, her voice numb thinking about it. She was also shocked to think of Sasha using the red lightning.
He shrugged. "Yeah, no big deal though, spent a few weeks in recovery I was back to my old self." She was just staring at him, "what's wrong?" He asked.
"I called in those Star Destroyers." She said numbly, and looked away. She had almost been responsible for his death, and the thought of that made her sick.
He looked at her blankly, and she swallowed nervously trying to read his reaction. "That was a good move cyar'ika!" He said, she could hear him grinning. "It almost got us." He said as a compliment.
She looked back at him dumbfounded. "You are very strange sometimes." She said.
"Sometimes?" He said, he walked over and embraced her. "I thought that was why you liked me."
She hugged him back. "I'm sorry I killed you." She said with a smile.
"I'm not. It was awesome." He said, putting his forehead to hers as a kiss.
They held their embrace for a while in the cold vacuum of space, on the back spine of the Star Destroyer next to the garbage hatch. Then the hatch started opening. They pulled away from each other and looked at it.
"Sh-" Kyr started.
"Showtime!" Cien interrupted him before he could get the word out. She turned and ran for the hatch. With a twist of her body and a burst of her jetpack, she disappeared into the garbage chute, dodging a cloud of debris that was blowing out.
"Hey! Don't steal my lines!" He shouted over the comlink. He ran after her, and tried to execute the same maneuver. He was not nearly as graceful, and his timing was off as he raced to catch her. "Os-" He exclaimed, before a piece of debris, he couldn't help but notice it was a broken caf dispenser, hit him, and sent him tumbling backward as he grunted from the impact.
"Kyr!" She yelled over their com line as she saw him pinwheeling away. It was just like when Sasha fell from the shuttle all those months ago. Without a second thought she reached out with the Force and pulled him inside, back to where she had already secured herself inside the bay as more debris flew out. She twisted him around a couple of oversized pieces of equipment, and pulled him to her, trying to fight the force of the air charge that was blowing everything out and the electromagnetic pulses that were driving the bigger pieces of broken equipment through the opening. He tumbled into her awkwardly and they both fell, Kyr curled in on himself like he was injured and over the sound of the wind, alarms and debris flying everywhere she couldn't make out what he was saying. "Are you okay?" She yelled frantically as the din continued. She glanced down at his vitals displayed on her heads up display, and through the Force she sensed nothing but humor from him. The hatch started closing as the last of the debris was evacuated, and she knelt over Kyr, and she realized he was laughing.
"I almost got blown out with the rest of the garbage!" He gasped out.
"That's not funny!" She yelled and smacked him on the shoulder. And he just laughed harder as the room sealed off. She got to her feet, and Kyr rose next to her, and they stood in the empty bay. She turned on her light enhancement, since there was very minimal lighting in here. "Now what?" She said, looking around.
"Ummmm…" Kyr said, trying to remember. "This hatch, it opens into the maintenance access ways."
"Okay." Cien said, walking over to it. There were no controls on this side. She looked over at him. "Should I 'Force' it?" She said.
"I got tape." He said.
"Tape?" She asked.
"Yeah." Kyr pulled a roll of tape out of one of his pouches, and ran it along the maintenance hatch. He stepped back, and put a small device on the end. He pressed a button on his gauntlet, and instantly the entire length of the tape flashed a searing, blinding white, which their visors safely blocked out. The door fell open, its edges still glowing.
"Oh." Cien said, she crawled through the small opening and looked at the maintenance crawl way, down its length as it receded into the distance. "Will you fit in here?" She called back.
"And what's that supposed to mean, cyar'ika?" He said.
She continued down, and Kyr clambered in, albeit a little awkwardly since he was bigger than she was. They made their way down the length, before ending at another door.
"This is the control room?" She asked, confirming what he had told her, and what the map on her heads up display was showing her from its sensor readings.
"Yeah. Once we go in there they'll know we're in, unless we want to wait for a shift change or something."
"How did you do it last time?" She asked.
"I waited. I crawled through these access ways for a couple of days and planted bombs at all the secondary control centers. But we're just here to kill Ikari, not the whole ship." He said.
"So…" She trailed off. "Do we want to wait, or do we want to go now?" She asked.
"I say no time like the present. We just need to get in there and load the program."
"Okay." She pulled her blaster out of her holster, and checked to make sure that her saber was still safely hidden. She was still a terrible shot with the blaster, but they wanted to keep the ruse up as long as possible. She moved aside awkwardly as Kyr moved around her, putting another line of tape around the small hatchway that would lead into the control.
"I think this might actually be showtime." He said, glancing at her. He could feel her roll her eyes under her buy'ce, and he grinned. He pressed the button, and again the tape flashed, and the durasteel panel fell away. He stepped into the room, his carbine up, seeing several Imperial technicians covering their eyes in pain. He swept into the room and took them down with quick, precise fire before their vision even had a hope of recovering. Cien stepped out behind him, her pistol out.
The comm line on the panel was beeping. Kyr ignored it. He looked around and saw the data socket. "Here." He said.
Cien stepped over and took the dataspike from one of her pouches while Kyr covered the door. She inserted it, and it rotated, locking into the port. "That's it?"
On their visors a new bit of information appeared, a two thousand character long string of random text that was now going to be the password for the ship as the program started working.
"Yeah." Kyr replied. The HAVOC program, he had gotten another copy of it from his slicer contact from years ago, the one who wrote the original from when he did this last time, while they were trying to convince the Armorsmith to talk to them. "Another five minutes or so-" He stopped talking as the lights dimmed, and then flashed ultra bright. "Oh, I guess he improved it."
"She's above us, on the bridge." Cien said, closing her eyes, trying to figure out where Ikari was among the sixty thousand or so people that called this ship home. The ocean of peoples thoughts and voices overwhelmed her a bit before she shut them out.
"Nice." Kyr said, "Makes our exit plan simple. Are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Yeah." She held her blaster up as he had trained her over the past month as she stacked behind him at the door. He hit the release switch and stepped through, his carbine up as he swept out and looked left and right. Around them the ship was in chaos already, the program randomly doing anything and everything to the ship. Lights were dimming and flashing, air vents were blowing freezing air and burning hot steam, doors were opened and shut, locked and unlocked. The crew was running in a panic, trying to figure out if they were somehow under attack. Which they were.
A squad of stormtroopers stepped around the corner, and Kyr fired immediately. Announcing their presence in the most unfriendly way, but as the ship descended into madness hopefully they would be harder and harder to track, let alone counter. The troopers died barely even having a chance to notice them.
"Turbolifts should be this way." Kyr said. Cien followed behind him as Kyr swept around the corner. More Stormtroopers were there, but they were just standing around in confusion. Kyr stood, and Cien knelt at his side. Even if she wasn't a good shot, yet, she still was able to provide good cover, and she did take several of them out. Kyr finished them up, and they bounded forward, stopping at each intersection and looking for threats, Cien and Kyr protecting each others backs as they ran through the ship, trying to make it to the turbolift shaft.
"I really wish I could use my saber." She groused as she sent a few blaster bolts down the hallway that went wide. "Or the Force. Or lightning." She continued to grouse as the troopers shot back at her. A shot pinged off her chest plate and she looked down in surprise.
Kyr immediately used a hand to push her back behind him and he sent a group of shots down the hallway. "You okay?" He said, loud enough to be heard over the fire as he tried to cover them.
"Yeah." She said. Behind them another group of troopers came up, and she raised her blaster and fired, taking careful aim. "We're getting a little pinned down!" She shouted back to him
"We're not pinned down, we're just in a target rich environment!" He shouted back. He grabbed a grenade off the side of his sleeve and threw it at the troopers he had been trying to take out. As the little cylinder bounced towards them a few astute troopers immediately ran, the others were caught in the explosion.
"Let's move!" He said. Behind him Cien got up and followed, sprinting down the corridor. They arrived at the turbolift shaft, and Kyr punched the door control. It opened half way, and the shaft was exposed. As he approached it closed, then opened all the way.
"Go!" He yelled, turning to cover her as she ducked in. The empty shaft worked to their advantage, she dropped slightly before she activated her jet pack and rocketed up as high as she could go. Kyr followed right below her.
Reaching the top, where a turbolift car was stopped, she looked at Kyr. "How far?" She asked.
"Five more decks." He said, hovering in the air next to her.
She pulled her saber out, assuming there were no cameras in the shaft and not caring terribly, and neatly sliced through the bottom of the car. She rocketed up through the opening, and saw two surprised stormtroopers that had been trapped in the car.
"Uh…" One of them said.
Kyr rocketed up into the tight confines of the car to stand next to Cien, and regarded the troopers. "Oh, hi." He said.
"Hi?" One of the troopers said, staring at the two Mandos, and especially the one that had a bright red lightsaber.
"Did you guys see us?" Kyr asked, innocently as Cien looked between them, not sure what to do.
"See what?" The talkative one said.
"Good boy." Kyr replied as Cien cut a hole in the roof and they continued through.
Five decks up, Cien had secured her saber back in its hidden scabbard at her hip, and they regarded the closed door of the shaft.
"Tape?" She asked.
"Nah." Kyr said beside her. He took out a small explosive from his pouch and put it on the door. It counted down as they moved out of the way. The explosion sent the door panels flying into the corridor.
"Just a few meters down, then we're at the bridge." Kyr said, He landed in the corridor beyond. He moved up to the next intersection, and Cien reached up and grabbed his cape, pulling him back as a crossfire of blaster bolts from emplaced cannons barred the way in front of him in a deadly storm of plasma.
He looked back at her. "Thanks."
"No problem." She said with a smirk. They peeked around the corners, she took the left, he took the right, and they got the information they needed before another hailstorm of fire tried to decapitate them. They both extended their right arms, and a handful of whistling bird missiles flew out, around the corner, and they heard the muted explosions as the darts exploded, and a split second later the power generator for the heavy repeaters exploded. They heard a few yelps of pain, but not enough. They peeked around the corner again, and saw that the explosions had completely wiped out the squads, and a good section of the corridors they had been emplaced in. They moved forward, towards the bridge. The blast door had been closed. In the back of Kyr's mind he wished Tac was here to just open it for them.
"Uh, this might be a problem." Kyr said.
Cien stepped forward and looked at the door. "Yeah." She looked around. "What's above and below us?" She asked.
"Equipment, offices, more command and control centers that don't need to be on the bridge proper." He said.
She looked around, they didn't really have the time to detour and try to tunnel in from some other direction. She could sense the ship mobilizing against them, even around the chaos of the program they had invaded the system with. "I coul-" She started to say.
Suddenly the door opened a little bit. Just enough for them to peek in, and Kyr looked through the opening. "Oh hey it's cupcake!" He said excitedly before he stepped back as blaster bolts came flying out towards where his visor had been seen. The door slammed shut as the program continued to work its magic.
"Is it going to do that again?" She asked.
"I don't know. I wish Tac were here." He groused.
"Well, I coul-" She said, and she stepped back as the door opened enough to admit someone to step through. Blaster fire poured out, and Kyr reached up to his sleeve and grabbed a few grenades, but the door closed again.
Kyr looked over at her. "Say 'I could' again." He said, more as a joke. He noted the door didn't open when he said it.
"I coul-" The door opened a little bit, blaster fire poured out again. Kyr was dumbfounded for a second and tossed the flashbang and frag grenades in before the door shut on them. They heard the muted explosions on the other side, and a few screams.
Cien stared at the door incredulously as Kyr stacked up, and she readied herself. Half disbelieving, she said the magic words; "I coul-".
The door opened, enough to permit them entry, and they jumped through before it slammed behind them. Ikari was standing at the end of the catwalk, her back to them. She was no longer dressed in the dark black robes with accents like before. Now she wore a black tunic with a long half skirt that was shorter in the front and longer in the back with higher heeled boots. Her jet black hair slicked back into a tight bun.
"Meg'laam, cupcake?" Kyr said as he swept in. None of the officers on the bridge were in any condition to counter their attack.
Ikari turned, an annoyed look on her face. "Well, well, well," she started. "I admit I am a little surprised to see you here. I would have thought you had died on the Bloodstorm. Or even escaped like your friends and were protecting the girl. But I guess not." She eyed Cien, not recognizing her. "And you brought a friend? What? Are you here to avenge your late Cien?"
"No, I'm not. She is, though." Kyr said, stepping aside.
Cien pulled her lightsaber into her hand as she scooped her buy'ce off, handing it to Kyr as she passed. "You really are an idiot." Cien said, igniting her saber.
"You're alive?" Ikari growled. "I should have known you wouldn't die so easily. No matter. If you think you can defeat me, then you are a fool. I will just kill you myself. And this time, I'll make sure you're dead." She pulled her double end saber off her belt and activated both ends before taking a powerful ready stance.
Cien brought her saber up in her own ready stance, and her left hand sparked with Sith lightning as she seethed with anger at her former acolyte. The electricity played up into her gauntlet, as if collecting there. She lunged forward, her saber going for the middle of Ikari's hilt. Ikari brought her blade up and knocked her saber aside before lunging forward with a stab. Cien parried the stab out to the side and stepped in with a Force push, trying to send Ikari reeling backwards. Ikari stumbled away into a roll before returning to her feet. She then swung at Cien with a series of swipes and wide swings.
Cien stepped back, blocking the hits as she was driven back towards Kyr on the center walkway of the destroyer's bridge. What officers had recovered were watching the duel with shock, trying to get away. After blocking the series of strokes, Cien lashed out with Sith lightning, the spray of bolts going every which way as she tried to get past Ikari's defenses through overwhelming her. Ikari's saber was up, blocking the lightning, but it was pushing her back and even some of it was zapping her arms. With a blast of the Force, Ikari sent the lightning away from her before charging forward again. Cien shielded herself from the blast, redirecting it off into the bridge.
Around them the lights went out because of the program, and the ship started listing to the side. The only light in the space coming in shadows through the windows and the three red lightsaber blades. Cien charged forward, a quick series of thrusts and stabs, trying to get past her defense. Ikari was able to block her hits as she tried to keep her footing. On the last strike, Ikari held firm on a saber lock as Cien tried to hold the lock with her single hand, trying to augment her strength with the Force.
She closed her left hand into a fist and summoned Sith lightning, but it didn't lash out. She and Kyr had discovered a very strange interaction with the beskar gauntlet. It collected like a storage vessel, streamers of electricity running up and down the length of the gauntlet, building discharge in a glowing storm of lightning. Cien finally punched Ikaris hilt, the hilt shattered with a concussive force as the collected electricity lashed out in one heavy, thunderous blow that destroyed the lower emitter. Ikari staggered back, cursing as she looked at her busted emitter. She then shot a glare at Cien.
Ikari then shot a glance over her shoulder at Kyr. She slowly turned to look at Cien with a vicious smirk. Whipping around on her heel, she raised her hand and Force choked Kyr.
Kyr staggered back, he had stood by to let Cien handle this, but as his throat started constricting he coughed, backing against the wall.
"You shouldn't have revealed your weakness to the Jedi girl," Ikari said with an amused tone. "I had ears everywhere and I know what can break you."
Cien looked to Kyr and saw what was happening, with a feral growl she lashed out with a Force blow that shattered her extended hand. Ikari screamed as she hunched over clutching her broken right wrist, releasing Kyr from the Force choke.
"Through passion, I gain strength." She growled. She sent a grievous Force blow at Ikari that sent her flying backwards.
"Through strength I gain power." She growled again, and sent another blow of Force that shattered her right knee, and Ikari reeling back again.
"Through power, I gain victory." She said, stepping forward, and she pressed her saber down on Ikari's left shoulder. "And I have a great deal of passion for those I care about." She growled menacingly. "They are not a weakness."
Ikari cried out in pain as she hunched over on the floor. After a moment, she chuckled under her breath. "You have truly become weak. You have fallen to the light. And you will die as a disgrace to the Sith Order and a weakling." Ikari swung out with her saber in a wide strike in her left hand, ignoring the pain from the burn, towards Cien. Cien slammed out with her hand, stopping the saber in the air and locking it in place.
She knelt before her. She crushed Ikari's hand, and her hilt, dislodging the kyber crystal within in a shower of sparks that extinguished the blade as she looked into her acolytes eyes. Ikari released a pained scream at her broken hand and saber. "I tried to teach you the errors of the Sith." She said menacingly. "Thank you for the compliment that I am a disgrace to the order." She said as she removed the small caps that protected her finger tips as part of her gloves. A special design feature she had known was necessary. She reached out, and she touched the broken wrist of her acolyte.
A flash of black, and Ikari was standing in the mindspace. Cien stalked towards her. She was not wearing Mandalorian armor anymore, she was wearing the black skirting and tunic of when she had been an Acolyte herself. "You worship our order and call me a disgrace?" She asked. "You never knew the Sith. The true Sith. Palpatine and Vader were pretenders." She scoffed as she towered over Ikari's shorter stature.
Ikari took a defensive step back as she glared at Cien. "What the hell is this place?" she asked, ignoring what Cien was saying.
Cien only smirked at her, so very darkly. "Whatever I want it to be." She held Ikari's gaze as around them they appeared at the temple on Korriban. The doors blew open, and Dracul stalked towards Ikari.
Ikari stared at him in shock and awe, but she shuddered a little as he approached.
Behind him fifty-seven acolytes, in various horrific states of decay marched in with Kopesh at the lead, surrounding Ikari as Cien stepped back. "I will be going now." She said tauntingly. "Enjoy your new master, enjoy being a proper Sith, and not a disgrace. And try not to disappoint him."
Dracul spoke, his voice like a blade drawn across a whetstone and the undead surrounded Ikari, pressing in on her. "Listen closely, if you are to be my fifty-ninth acolyte…"
Cien exited mindspace, coming back to the bridge of the star destroyer, Ikari trapped in her mind with the construct of Dracul she had left as a parting gift. She took a moment to recover. Ikari would be dead soon, anyway, but her sense of time was warped, she would be under Dracul's kind ministrations for days in her mind before she and Kyr made their exit. Ikari's eyes looked blankly up at the ceiling, trembling slightly as she experienced whatever nightmares haunted her mind.
Kyr was at her side. "What did you do to her?" He asked.
"I gave her exactly what she wanted." Cien said quietly. "I made her a proper Sith." She looked at her, about every minute that passed here would be a month for her. It had already been more than a week. Ikari shuddered slightly, and screamed quietly. And then again, louder.
Kyr turned away, disturbed by the sight. "Are we done here?" He asked. Outside troopers were banging on the blast door trying to get in to protect their 'Empress'.
"Yes." Cien responded, she looked away and embraced Kyr, she was trembling slightly herself. "I want to go home." She whispered.
"We have a beach first. Remember?" He asked. Handing her her buy'ce. She glanced at Ikari one last time. Little whimpering sounds issued from her, and she realized her death would be a release for her former Acolyte that had been her own nightmare for years. She put her buy'ce on, and closed her gloves off. The other officers had already escaped through other exits in the crew pits, wanting nothing to do with the duel, they were alone on the bridge except for Ikari.
Cien used the Force to blow out the transparisteel windows of the bridge, and they used their jet packs to ride the rush of escaping air out before the armored shutters closed behind them.
Ikari came out with them, dying in the vacuum of space, and Cien could only imagine it was a kindness after what she had been left with trapped in her mind. Even if the few seconds she took to suffocate in space would be hours for her, and she would feel that process. As she remembered the state Sasha had been in, the cruelty she had visited upon her friend, whatever bit of guilt she had over that thought disappeared. She had, indeed, fallen to the light, but not that far.
The star destroyer was floating listlessly as the HAVOC program still disrupted its systems. They rode the momentum out a ways and used their jetpacks to gain even more distance as they floated together in the void. It was over. They were done. Their family was safe.
Cien closed her eyes, relishing this feeling, the feeling of the threat being over, and floating here with the one she loved. She looked down at her gauntlet and pressed a button, issuing the recall order to her fighter to come pick them up.
Suddenly a fleet of ships started appearing out of hyperspace. Three Mon Calamari cruisers, four Nebulon-B Frigates and a number of corvettes as well as an accompanying flight of X-Wings. Her heads up display, having linked her data over from Kyr's, tagged them with IFF Codes in friendly teal colors.
"Who is this?" She asked, not recognizing any of the names displayed. Not that she would really recognize any names from the New Republic fleet.
"Ha, it's the 19th tactical." Kyr said, he had explained that part of the plan. "I sent them a message as soon as we were out of hyperspace."
Their comline suddenly spoke with a woman's voice. "Kyr! Good to see ya. Admiral Ackbar sends his regards, and asks, once more, that you stop using the term 'chum' around him."
"Punctual as usual, Admiral Sulam." Kyr said in response, a grin in his voice.
"So what is this mess you've gotten yourself into?" The woman on the comline asked. "Your cute little shebs okay?"
At that Cien glanced at Kyr, under her bucket she raised an eyebrow. On their private line she asked the question. "And who is she?"
Kyr glanced at her. "She was my CO in the war." He replied back on their private line.
Cien looked at him, "oh." She replied.
"Her husband was my second in command." He further explained, feeling the need to clarify that point in particular.
"I see." She said flatly.
Kyr cleared his throat and finally responded to the Admiral. "We're doing fine, Admiral. We hope you enjoy your prize. I'm sending you the code to bring the computers back."
A flight of X-Wings with orange colored squadron markers buzzed them. "Nice to see you in action again, Colonel. Who's your friend?" A man called over the com as the X-Wings blew past.
"None of your business Hassen." Kyr called back, good naturedly.
"I'm sure we will, Kyr." The Admiral broke in. "You gonna stay to help with the clean up? The Copperheads are aboard, probably a free drink in it for both of you, from them and me."
Kyr glanced at Cien. "Nope. I have a beach to get to. See you guys around." And he shut off the comline.
"She seemed nice." Cien said flatly.
"So about that beach cyar'ika…" He said, trying to change the subject.
He heard her snort a little. Then she spoke through a smile. "Race you back to the ship." She twisted around, and used her pack to rocket off towards her fighter. Kyr let go a breath he didn't know he was holding and rocketed off after her.
REVIEW!