Chapter Eight: "This isn't learn-about-Nicola day,"
Adra watched as Nicola led them through Cloud City's corridors. It still felt odd, moving along without any attempt at concealment as they had Jade's Force shield in place. Adra, Nicola and the rest of the Jedi stopped abruptly, the people behind them slamming into their backs. A large group, about 30, was approaching them from the front. They looked around quickly for possible places to hide since 30 Imperials and 9 Wraiths wouldn't fit in the corridor.
Without any warning, Nicola suddenly sprung up towards the corridor ceiling, using telekinesis to give herself an extra push. Adra watched in fascination as Nicola wedged her feet under two pipes and held on to another with her left hand as her right one worked on undoing a latch. A panel swung down, almost hitting Kell, revealing an overhead space to the Wraiths.
Dropping back down to the floor, she grinned slightly at Adra. "Go ahead up, Kell, Face. The rest of us can get up a bit easier than you,"
Kell reached up and easily grabbed the edge of the ceiling and pulled himself up. Reaching down, he offered a hand first to Face, then to Cloud. Thracia jumped up and then levitated Jade, in a trance, up to the "space," and Asyr right behind her.
His voice tight and controlled, Bror said," They're coming. We've got 20 seconds."
After a stern look from Nicola, Adra jumped up into their hiding spot, leaving Bror and Nicola standing there. Bror opened his mouth to tell Nicola to go on up, but before he could get the words out, Nicola levitated him up into the hole. The sound of marching feet slowly started to become louder. Adra could almost hear the cursing running through her friend's mind, of which well over half were never used around children.
[Force Speech] Close the Sithin' hatch, [/Force Talk] Nicola said grimily to Adra. When Adra didn't move immediately, Nicola jumped up, grabbed several pipes, and pushed the hatch shut with her feet, using the Force to make the lock click. Wedging her feet under pipes and readjusting her grip with her hands, she waited all of two seconds before the first rank of Imperials arrived. If any looked up, she was screwed.
Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead, her muscles started to ache. Several drops of sweat fell, hitting two soldiers, one on the nose and the other on the shoulder. They both looked up and fired two stun bolts at her.
Kicking the latch and breaking it, Nicola swung down, kicking the two soldiers backwards, knocking several of their fellows down. Dropping all the way down, she flipped one man over her head, slamming him into another. Pulling out a blaster, she fired repeatedly and quickly, taking out six more Imps. Ten down, twenty to go.
Reaching out with the Force, she called her lightsaber to her. In a silver blur, it flew up from her boot and into her jumpsuit sleeve into the hidden sheath for it she had there. Kicking another officer in the throat twice and killing her, she fired her blaster again.
Suddenly, Adra had dropped down into the fray, blaster firing rapidly. The remaining Imps turned towards her, surprised. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Nicola exploded in a flurry of kicks, punches, and flips.
Glad for once that she was short, Nicola leapt into the air, her knees bent and turned outwards. Kicking them outwards, her boots hit the throats of two Imps, instantly killing them. Snapping her legs back together, she came down, going into a forward roll. As she came out of it, her blasters were in hand and aimed at two Imps. She fired, leaving eight Imperials. Another Imp rushed at her, and she held up a hand, the hilt of her lightsaber in it. Activating the beam, she watched coolly as the Imperial neatly ran himself through.
Seven blasters fired, each hitting different targets and killing them instantly. Wiping the light sheen of sweat out of her eyes, Nicola looked around. In between Adra coming down and the last Imperials dying, Bror, Asyr, Kell, Face, and Cloud had dropped down. The other blast shots had come from them and Adra. A moment later, Thracia and Jade, who was out of her trance, came down. Every single Wraith present was looking at Nicola with a bit of an awed expression.
"Hey Poster Boy, did you get that on holocamera?" Kell asked. Face rolled his eyes.
"I used to act in the holodramas, not operate the cameras, Explosion Boy."
Nicola fixed all of them with a hard glare. "What? All I did was beat up some Imps! And I'm not really in shape for some of those kicks either,"
Kell shook his head in amazement. "Listen to the woman. She says that she's not in shape after kicking fifteen Imperial asses!"
His worry showing, Bror crossed over to her quickly and took her in his arms. "Don't ever scare me like that again," he murmured in her ear, having to bend slightly.
"Sorry. And don't worry, the little one's fine," she replied quietly.
"We should move on," a low voice came from the to her side of the corridor. As one, Nicola and Bror turned to see who had spoken. It was Jade. No one really knew what her voice sounded like as she almost never spoke.
"You're right. Go back into you're trance whenever you're ready," Nicola replied.
Jade nodded. Crossing over to Cloud, whose expression was a bit apprehensive, her lightsaber jumped into her hand. "Can you still use a lightsaber?"
Gulping, Cloud nodded. "I think, haven't used one in a while."
Running a finer along the casing, she tossed the lightsaber to Cloud. "If you lose or damage this, you'll be taking an extended vacation to hell's inner circle."
Fumbling slightly as he caught it, his eyes widening. Jade never let anyone touch her lightsaber. Of course, she came on about 1 out of 100 missions. For the first time, Cloud was lost for words. He finally nodded and mumbled a "Yessum,"
Satisfied, Jade lowered her muscular frame back to the ground, crossing her legs "Indian style." The air around the Wraiths blurred for a moment and then became still again. Nodding briskly, Nicola started to walk again, as if nothing had ever happened.
Kell kicked down the door leading into cellblock DL-773. Grinning, Nicola, Adra, Asyr, Face, Bror, Cloud, and Kell advanced in, blasters out and ready. An Imperial officer stood up quickly, a Major by his rank insignia.
"What are you doing here, Rebel Scum?" he asked, sneering.
Behind him, a lieutenant turned on a communit. Her voice sharp, Nicola said. "Kell, blast it." Grinning even broader, Kell fired his blaster at it, turning it into a molten mass or metal.
"Hands in the air, all of you!" Nicola ordered briskly. As one, the six Jedi pilots plus Cloud reached out with the Force and the Imperials' blasters flew towards them. Moving swiftly, Nicola went over to a side panel and pulled out several pairs of stuncuffs. Tossing several to the other Wraiths, she began to secure the Imperials' hands behind them.
As she came towards a taller, sturdily built woman, the woman and the man next to her studied Nicola's face, as if trying to remember something.
"Larse? Inyri Larse?" Nicola froze several waves of shock coming from her before she managed to get her mental shields back in place.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.
The man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Those silver lamps of yours are a bit of a legend, Inyri. And don't tell me you've forgotten you're good ol' pals Evin and Gaerra already, lass!"
If anything, Nicola only grew stiffer. "Inyri Larse is dead, Evin," she said softly, Kell had to struggle to hear her.
His voice equally low, the man, Evin, replied. "Don't lie girl. You might now call yourself Inyri anymore, but I know it's still you love," Unfortunately for Nicola, he wasn't yet stuncuffed. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down and kissed her. Coming up briefly, he said "Oh it's Inyri alright," and kissed her again. Nicola's eyes flashed and she kneed him in the balls.
Letting go of her, he doubled over in pain. Furious, Nicola pulled out her blaster and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Her wedding ring on her left hand easily visible, she advanced on Evin. But surprisingly, Bror got there first.
"Get away from my wife, you bastard!" Bror said in a low and menacing tone. Balling his hand into a fist, he swung at Evin and shattered his jaw. Now Nicola was beside him, her blaster aimed and her hand steady.
Sensing what Nicola was going to do, Adra pulled out her own blaster and began to fire at the security cameras around the room, Kell willingly helping.
As they blasted the last camera, Nicola fired seven shots in rapid succession at Evin's chest. He dropped to the ground, huge gaping holes in his chest. Reholstering her blaster, Nicola walked over and spit contemptuously on Evin.
Bror, Adra, and everyone else looked at Nicola, shock evident in their eyes. A thousand questions were on their lips when Nicola cut then off with,
"This isn't learn-about-Nicola day. It's rescue-Tyria day,"
With that, she headed down the cell block hallway, never looking back. Shutting their mouths, the other Wraiths followed her. She did have a point, thought Kell, learning about her life history definitely shouldn't be on the top of their priority list.
Adra watched as Nicola led them through Cloud City's corridors. It still felt odd, moving along without any attempt at concealment as they had Jade's Force shield in place. Adra, Nicola and the rest of the Jedi stopped abruptly, the people behind them slamming into their backs. A large group, about 30, was approaching them from the front. They looked around quickly for possible places to hide since 30 Imperials and 9 Wraiths wouldn't fit in the corridor.
Without any warning, Nicola suddenly sprung up towards the corridor ceiling, using telekinesis to give herself an extra push. Adra watched in fascination as Nicola wedged her feet under two pipes and held on to another with her left hand as her right one worked on undoing a latch. A panel swung down, almost hitting Kell, revealing an overhead space to the Wraiths.
Dropping back down to the floor, she grinned slightly at Adra. "Go ahead up, Kell, Face. The rest of us can get up a bit easier than you,"
Kell reached up and easily grabbed the edge of the ceiling and pulled himself up. Reaching down, he offered a hand first to Face, then to Cloud. Thracia jumped up and then levitated Jade, in a trance, up to the "space," and Asyr right behind her.
His voice tight and controlled, Bror said," They're coming. We've got 20 seconds."
After a stern look from Nicola, Adra jumped up into their hiding spot, leaving Bror and Nicola standing there. Bror opened his mouth to tell Nicola to go on up, but before he could get the words out, Nicola levitated him up into the hole. The sound of marching feet slowly started to become louder. Adra could almost hear the cursing running through her friend's mind, of which well over half were never used around children.
[Force Speech] Close the Sithin' hatch, [/Force Talk] Nicola said grimily to Adra. When Adra didn't move immediately, Nicola jumped up, grabbed several pipes, and pushed the hatch shut with her feet, using the Force to make the lock click. Wedging her feet under pipes and readjusting her grip with her hands, she waited all of two seconds before the first rank of Imperials arrived. If any looked up, she was screwed.
Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead, her muscles started to ache. Several drops of sweat fell, hitting two soldiers, one on the nose and the other on the shoulder. They both looked up and fired two stun bolts at her.
Kicking the latch and breaking it, Nicola swung down, kicking the two soldiers backwards, knocking several of their fellows down. Dropping all the way down, she flipped one man over her head, slamming him into another. Pulling out a blaster, she fired repeatedly and quickly, taking out six more Imps. Ten down, twenty to go.
Reaching out with the Force, she called her lightsaber to her. In a silver blur, it flew up from her boot and into her jumpsuit sleeve into the hidden sheath for it she had there. Kicking another officer in the throat twice and killing her, she fired her blaster again.
Suddenly, Adra had dropped down into the fray, blaster firing rapidly. The remaining Imps turned towards her, surprised. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Nicola exploded in a flurry of kicks, punches, and flips.
Glad for once that she was short, Nicola leapt into the air, her knees bent and turned outwards. Kicking them outwards, her boots hit the throats of two Imps, instantly killing them. Snapping her legs back together, she came down, going into a forward roll. As she came out of it, her blasters were in hand and aimed at two Imps. She fired, leaving eight Imperials. Another Imp rushed at her, and she held up a hand, the hilt of her lightsaber in it. Activating the beam, she watched coolly as the Imperial neatly ran himself through.
Seven blasters fired, each hitting different targets and killing them instantly. Wiping the light sheen of sweat out of her eyes, Nicola looked around. In between Adra coming down and the last Imperials dying, Bror, Asyr, Kell, Face, and Cloud had dropped down. The other blast shots had come from them and Adra. A moment later, Thracia and Jade, who was out of her trance, came down. Every single Wraith present was looking at Nicola with a bit of an awed expression.
"Hey Poster Boy, did you get that on holocamera?" Kell asked. Face rolled his eyes.
"I used to act in the holodramas, not operate the cameras, Explosion Boy."
Nicola fixed all of them with a hard glare. "What? All I did was beat up some Imps! And I'm not really in shape for some of those kicks either,"
Kell shook his head in amazement. "Listen to the woman. She says that she's not in shape after kicking fifteen Imperial asses!"
His worry showing, Bror crossed over to her quickly and took her in his arms. "Don't ever scare me like that again," he murmured in her ear, having to bend slightly.
"Sorry. And don't worry, the little one's fine," she replied quietly.
"We should move on," a low voice came from the to her side of the corridor. As one, Nicola and Bror turned to see who had spoken. It was Jade. No one really knew what her voice sounded like as she almost never spoke.
"You're right. Go back into you're trance whenever you're ready," Nicola replied.
Jade nodded. Crossing over to Cloud, whose expression was a bit apprehensive, her lightsaber jumped into her hand. "Can you still use a lightsaber?"
Gulping, Cloud nodded. "I think, haven't used one in a while."
Running a finer along the casing, she tossed the lightsaber to Cloud. "If you lose or damage this, you'll be taking an extended vacation to hell's inner circle."
Fumbling slightly as he caught it, his eyes widening. Jade never let anyone touch her lightsaber. Of course, she came on about 1 out of 100 missions. For the first time, Cloud was lost for words. He finally nodded and mumbled a "Yessum,"
Satisfied, Jade lowered her muscular frame back to the ground, crossing her legs "Indian style." The air around the Wraiths blurred for a moment and then became still again. Nodding briskly, Nicola started to walk again, as if nothing had ever happened.
Kell kicked down the door leading into cellblock DL-773. Grinning, Nicola, Adra, Asyr, Face, Bror, Cloud, and Kell advanced in, blasters out and ready. An Imperial officer stood up quickly, a Major by his rank insignia.
"What are you doing here, Rebel Scum?" he asked, sneering.
Behind him, a lieutenant turned on a communit. Her voice sharp, Nicola said. "Kell, blast it." Grinning even broader, Kell fired his blaster at it, turning it into a molten mass or metal.
"Hands in the air, all of you!" Nicola ordered briskly. As one, the six Jedi pilots plus Cloud reached out with the Force and the Imperials' blasters flew towards them. Moving swiftly, Nicola went over to a side panel and pulled out several pairs of stuncuffs. Tossing several to the other Wraiths, she began to secure the Imperials' hands behind them.
As she came towards a taller, sturdily built woman, the woman and the man next to her studied Nicola's face, as if trying to remember something.
"Larse? Inyri Larse?" Nicola froze several waves of shock coming from her before she managed to get her mental shields back in place.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.
The man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Those silver lamps of yours are a bit of a legend, Inyri. And don't tell me you've forgotten you're good ol' pals Evin and Gaerra already, lass!"
If anything, Nicola only grew stiffer. "Inyri Larse is dead, Evin," she said softly, Kell had to struggle to hear her.
His voice equally low, the man, Evin, replied. "Don't lie girl. You might now call yourself Inyri anymore, but I know it's still you love," Unfortunately for Nicola, he wasn't yet stuncuffed. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down and kissed her. Coming up briefly, he said "Oh it's Inyri alright," and kissed her again. Nicola's eyes flashed and she kneed him in the balls.
Letting go of her, he doubled over in pain. Furious, Nicola pulled out her blaster and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Her wedding ring on her left hand easily visible, she advanced on Evin. But surprisingly, Bror got there first.
"Get away from my wife, you bastard!" Bror said in a low and menacing tone. Balling his hand into a fist, he swung at Evin and shattered his jaw. Now Nicola was beside him, her blaster aimed and her hand steady.
Sensing what Nicola was going to do, Adra pulled out her own blaster and began to fire at the security cameras around the room, Kell willingly helping.
As they blasted the last camera, Nicola fired seven shots in rapid succession at Evin's chest. He dropped to the ground, huge gaping holes in his chest. Reholstering her blaster, Nicola walked over and spit contemptuously on Evin.
Bror, Adra, and everyone else looked at Nicola, shock evident in their eyes. A thousand questions were on their lips when Nicola cut then off with,
"This isn't learn-about-Nicola day. It's rescue-Tyria day,"
With that, she headed down the cell block hallway, never looking back. Shutting their mouths, the other Wraiths followed her. She did have a point, thought Kell, learning about her life history definitely shouldn't be on the top of their priority list.