Hey
guys! Sorry for the delay between chapters...This story is done now,
tho, so it's just a matter of uploading the rest.
Hope
you enjoy!
~FP
Giles
turned around at the sound of the doors to the Bridge sliding open.
His eyes went wide as Espen dropped his son carelessly on the floor.
Wesley
rolled onto his stomach, then moved sluggishly to a nearby console.
His head buzzed and spun, and his vision blurred, but he was
determined to fight back.
"Espen,
what have you done to him?!" Giles exclaimed.
Lindsey
rose beside Giles, just as surprised as he was to see the young man
in this condition.
"I
have infected him with Kasparaitis, a disease you no longer have the
cure for in supply, seeing as I emptied out the stores. Save one,"
Wesley tried pulling himself to his feet, but Espen grabbed his
hair, pulled him away from the console, and shoved him to the floor.
"And I will administer this one
only after you have agreed to my terms."
"Dammit, Espen - "
"Shut up and listen.
Two hours can fly by really quickly, as you know, but seeing as we
are already cleared to land time is shorter. Besides, another
fifteen minutes and poor wesley here will be spitting up blood, and
therefore beyond all help.
"All
I want is your ship and all the cargo we picked up on Léonna
VI. The Alliance traitors are to be locked up in the brig, and you,
the lovely Deanna, and possibly
Wesley will be left on Aria, where you can fend for yourselves."
"We don't need the
ship, Espen." Simpson told him. "We are being met on the
surface."
"I see,"
The doors opened, and
Deanna and Breckin entered.
In one swift, fluid motion
Simpson swung Breckin to the floor, holding him at gunpoint. "I'm
breaking up with you." she stated.
"You bitch!"
Deanna punched her in the face. As she stumbled aside, holding her
nose, Deanna noticed her brother twitching on the floor. "What
the hell did you do to Scruffy?!" she ran to his side.
"Don't touch him, I
don't know how contagious he is." Espen cautioned, grinning.
She drew back slightly.
"Contagious? Oh, Scruffy,"
"Well, what do you
say, Giles?" Simpson asked the captain.
"I'm sorry, Kane, but
he's the only son I have." Lindsey nodded in understanding,
though he was not pleased with this turn of events. "I agree to
your demands." Giles told Espen.
"Excellent," the
other grinned wider.
"Demands? What
demands? Dad, what is going on?" Deanna questioned. "What
have they done to my brother?"
"Please, Deanna, I'll
explain later." Giles turned to Espen. "Now, cure him."
"I will. As soon as
you lock up your new buddies. Time's a-goin'."
Giles looked to Lindsey,
and he nodded. "Brecktin, come with us, please." Lindsey
requested.
Breckin's eyes locked with
Deanna's as he got up from the deck. The three left the bridge to
find Nordat on their way to the brig.
Wesley's eyes rolled back
in his head. He had no idea what was going on around him. The only
thing he was aware of was the burning in his chest and his inability
to move voluntarily. He felt something else, this time in his
stomach, but it was not internal. He guessed someone had kicked him.
"Espen, you bastard."
"You'd better watch
it, Boy. I'm the only one who can fix you." Espen's voice
sounded lightyears away.
There
was a slight prick in Wesley's arm, and freezing moved up to his
neck. He clenched his teeth. If this is the cure, I think
I liked the disease better.
Espen watched curiously as
the vaccine ran its course. Wesley's body was rigid, as if every
muscle in his body was contracting at once.
"If this doesn't
work, I'll - "
"You'll what,
Girlie?"
"I'll think of
something." Deanna folded her arms across her chest.
"You do that,"
Simpson muttered, hopping into the pilot's seat. "I'm taking us
down." she announced.
S'Ritak Vedul watched the
sky from the inside of the room he had reserved for their arrival on
Aria. Darth Maul was pacing, reflected in the glass, while Lou
inspected their surroundings. She still did not trust the Twi'Lek.
"Why are we here,
S'Ritak?" Maul asked again. They had been on the surface for
three hours, and Maul was itching to leave. Aria was not far enough
away from Coruscant - or Palpatine - for him to be comfortable.
"You will see,
Master."
"Why do you cloud
your thoughts from me?"
"I have nothing of
interest in my head, Master." Vedul flashed a look in Lou's
direction. "She has brought out in you a distrust for me?"
"You have earned my
distrust yourself, Apprentice. That was one of my favorite vases."
"I'll fix it when we
return home, if it will gain your trust back."
"You'll fix it
anyway." Maul narrowed his eyes at the Twi'Lek.
Vedul smiled, "Of
course,"
Maul growled, then went
over to where Lou was examining the door lock. He rested his hands
on her shoulders, mentally making her aware of his presence
beforehand so she would not startle. "Everything in working
order, then?"
"I think so,"
Lou sighed, replacing the panel. She straightened, then turned.
Maul put his hand on her
cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you."
She closed her eyes. The
warmth on her cheek became a burning. her head spun.
Maul sensed that something
was wrong immediately. "Jareena, what is it?" he tried to
bring her back to reality.
Lou opened her eyes, and
looked up at the high ceiling. She was no longer in the hotel room.
She was back on Coruscant, in the Imperial Palace.
She heard laughter, and
turned toward its source. Emperor Palpatine was carrying the Statue
of Ongrel on a small platform to her. Lou's hand glowed red, and she
held it up to the Statue. It in turn glowed red, until the three
sides opened downwards.
Palpatine's laugh grew,
echoing off the walls.
The doors swung open, and
Darth Maul entered running, lightsabre ablaze. "Jareena, come
away from there!" he ordered.
"It's too late,
Maul," Palpatine stated, setting the platform and Statue on the
table in the center of the room. He then turned on his former
apprentice, eyes full of contentment. "You, Sir, have caused me
more trouble in the past few days then the effort worth putting forth
to kill you."
Maul's lightsabre was
thrown from his hand, as blue Force lightning racked his body
relentlessly.
"NO!" Lou
screamed, falling into Maul's arms, the vision having passed.
"Shh," he tried
to sound soothing. "That won't happen."
She
looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "You saw it, too?"
he nodded, running his fingers through her dark green hair. "Every
other vision I have ever seen has come true, no matter what I've
tried to do to stop it. Morty's going to die." she met his
yellow eyes. "And so will you." she pulled away from him.
"I don't want to lose you again, Maul. I can't,"
Maul held her close. "How
long have you been having them?"
"Four years, Maul.
They started shortly after I left Coruscant."
He thought about this,
before replying, "They must be linked with the Statue of Ongrel.
That is the only explanation."
"They are. I know
they are. I feel that heart beating when I'm alone and everything
else has stopped." she shook her head, pulling back. "It
won't stop."
"Heart beating? What
heart beating?"
"The Heart inside the
Statue. The thing Palpatine's after. It will give him all the power
once held by the first Sith warrior."
"How do you know all
this?" Vedul broke into their conversation.
"I - I - " she
could not find an answer that would satisfy any of them. "I
just do."
The
Watcher's Light set
down on the platform, making a perfect landing.
Espen clamped his hand on
Giles' shoulder. "Good work," he turned to leave. As he
passed Deanna and Wesley he asked, "How ya doin', Sport?"
Wesley raised his head
weakly. "F - "
Deanna covered her
brother's mouth with her hand. "Fine," she said in place
of what he would have.
Espen ruffled the boy's
hair, then left the Bridge. Simpson rose from her spot beside the
twins, as Giles turned his chair around. She whipped out her
blaster, and shot the captain in the head. Deanna screamed, and
Wesley stared in disbelief, unable to muster the energy to do
anything else.
Espen turned back,
recognizing the sound of blaster fire, and then hearing the scream.
"Come on, Simpson. We don't have all day. We are on a schedule
here."
"Two more," she
replied wickedly.
"Make it quick,"
Wesley moved in front of
his sister protectively, trying to find the strength to fight back.
Deanna sobbed into his back.
"A lot of good you'll
do her, dying first and all." Simpson smiled cruelly, taking aim
at his forehead.
"Don't," Deanna
pleaded. "Please don't."