Chapter XIII - Enemy Camp
Hekku grumbled and clamped a pillow over his head to muffle the racket. He'd been up most of the night chasing a pack of pirates through Mos Eisley. Didn't he deserve some sleep?
"Jedi Hekku, your Tusken amigo is here!" Ricardo shouted through the door. "He's in a panic, and we can't get him to talk Basic for us!"
Reluctantly he grabbed his lightsaber and rolled out of bed. At least he was Geonosian and didn't have to waste time bothering with cumbersome clothes. If all species had exoskeletons, few people would complain about there not being enough hours in the day.
The other Jedi were already heading for the bar when he stepped out of the room. Wor'arran was in a fine state, gibbering in Tusken, terror leeching from him so strongly Hekku wouldn't have been surprised if Skywalker could feel it all the way back at Madman's Crown. Xna tried to get him to hush and repeat himself in Basic, but to no avail.
"What the stang's that savage babbling about?" demanded a member of the Modal Nodes.
"Hang on, we'll find out," Hekku replied. He clapped a hand on Wor'arran's good arm and released a flood of the Force into him, calming him. The Tusken gave a blissful sigh and sagged into Korie's arms.
/You overdid it/ Korie told him.
"Well, excuse me for trying," Hekku grumped.
Chyna placed her hands on Wor'arran's temples, and he snapped back to life.
"Jedi! Great trouble! Scouts see pirates!"
"Where?" demanded Xna.
"In the Dune Sea! Hundreds! Men in armor with them -- you call Mandalorians! More come by dozens!"
If Wor'arran had anything else to say, the Jedi didn't hear. They bolted from the cantina and charged down the main street. Hekku vaulted over a repulsorsled in his haste to keep up with his longer-legged companions.
At last Gabriel slowed, holding up his hands to get the others to stop.
"May I ask why we are all running hell-bent for the pirates?" he asked. "Should we not think of some less suicidal strategy before investigating? I, for one, would like to help Tatooine as a living Jedi and not a ghost."
Korie barked in laughter. /Good point. I guess we all just panicked like Wor'arran at the news./
"We'll tell the Republic troops to keep on high alert," Chyna suggested. "If the pirates attack, they can hold them off until reinforcements arrive. Tonight, we'll sneak in and check things out."
The triple moons of Tatooine faintly illuminated the desert landscape, crescents of pearl in the bejeweled night sky. The five Jedi crept across the crack-riddled ground beneath the moons' watchful sentry, slipping from rock to crevice to shadow in an effort to conceal themselves. A mere half of a kilometer ahead, the cooking fires, stacked supply crates, and unmoving hulks of transports were visible. Shouts of laughter and drunken conversation further betrayed the camp's location.
"They must've flunked the stealth portion of their pirate education," Chyna noted, glancing sideways at Gabriel. The two of them wore black robes and gloves, and black hoods with eye and mouth holes covered their faces, making them look decidedly roguish.
Korie caught up with the two humans, panting slightly, still giving off the odor of chemicals. The Jedi had spent most of the day dyeing her fur black -- a silver Wookie was only too visible at night. Xna, too, had been liberally smeared with dark paint to avoid detection. Hekku, luckily, was dark already and needed no camouflage.
Gingerly Gabriel raised his scope to scan the campsite. "From where I sit, I see about... oh, four dozen. Perhaps five. There must be more, though. They're sitting on enough supplies to feed our refugees for a month."
/I'd like to know what they're doing just sitting out here, waiting to be discovered/ Korie demanded. /Something just doesn't smell right./
"It's the dye," Hekku replied.
"It's an expression, cricket-man," Gabriel told him.
"I knew that," Hekku shot back. "Can't I kid her?"
"Ssssshut up!" hissed Xna.
Gabriel handed the scope to Chyna. "What do you see?"
She pursed her lips as she swept her gaze across the camp. "Niktos, Klatoonians, Rodians, humans, Bothans, Sakiyans, one Wookie with a bad case of mange... and lots of Mandalorians. They've really expanded their numbers, haven't they?"
"Let'ssss go in for a clossssser look," suggested Xna.
"Merci, but I like my guts where they are, Xna," Gabriel replied.
/We can use the Force to cloak ourselves/ Korie suggested. /A quick peek, mind. I don't fancy being caught by them either./
They emerged from their hiding place and marched into camp. The pirates paid them little heed, their gazes being turned aside by gentle nudges of the Force. If one happened to brush by a Jedi, he merely assumed he or she was a fellow pirate.
The rogues were obviously in high spirits tonight. Liquor and boastful stories flowed freely, and delicious aromas from cooking fires perfumed the air. Some showed off a particular valuable gained from a strike and bragged about their challenges obtaining it, while others sang boisterous songs in dreadfully off-key voices. Games of sabaac and tunes played badly on stolen musical instruments were also common.
Gabriel paused, a pained expression crossing his eyes.
/What is it?/ sent Korie.
His gaze flickered toward a human talking animatedly with a gap-toothed Besalisk. The muscular, shaven-headed man wore a too-small sleeveless flightsuit and a belt heavy with knives and blades of all sorts, some utilitarian, others exotic. Around his neck he wore a pendant bearing the Imperial insignia, and on his upper arm was a tattoo of a skull with a sword through its eye socket.
/What about him?/ she asked.
/I know him/ he sent back sadly. /Nigel McDonnel, of the London England Garrison of the Fighting 501st, a stormtrooper impersonator. And a good friend./
She sighed quietly. /I'm sorry./
He snorted and kept walking.
In the center of the camp, five figures stood near an Imperial shuttle. The first was a dingy gray-and-red astromech droid projecting a holographic image, though this was deactivated before the Jedi could get a good look at it. The second was the bounty hunter Aurra Sing, as willowy and brutal-looking as ever despite the passage of thirty years. The third was a blue-skinned Mon Calamari with yellow blotches down his face and wearing a white robe with the crest of Kruvex on either shoulder, most likely the pirate representative. The fourth, a Mandalorian with green-and-red armor similar to Boba Fett's, seemed to be the leader of his order. The fifth towered over his comrades, an imposing figure in black lizard-skin armor and a Matrix-style trench coat, with broad shoulders, a strong-jawed angular face, and lekku-like scalp appendages that hung down to his shoulders like dreadlocks.
"It will be done as you say, Krad," Aurra said.
"It's insane," the Mon Calamari stated firmly. "If we're caught at this, it's the firing squad for all of us."
"Then we'll be sure not to be caught, Monar," the tall one the Jedi assumed was Krad said, rolling his Rs as he spoke.
"It's a grand plan," the Mandalorian said with barely contained enthusiasm. "Especially since the Skywalkers have already made it necessary for Krad to kill two of my best warriors."
"An eye for an eye, is it?" Aurra grinned.
"For all of us," Krad said broodingly. "At last my mother can rest in peace, for soon her murder will be avenged."
Chyna gave her comrades a wide-eyed look. /This is him! The leader! The son of Zorn!/
"I don't like it," Monar said gravely.
"Having second thoughts, are we?" Aurra hissed.
"I support Krad one hundred percent!" Monar cried, watery eyes wide. "But killing a Jedi is a serious offense..."
"Whereas killing a sniveling pirate is beneath me," Krad finished, flicking his claws dismissively. "Remove him from my sight, Aurra. Permanently."
"No!" Monar squealed as she threw an arm around him and planted the muzzle of a blaster under his chin. "I take it back! I'll fight Skywalker..."
Krad held up his hand, stopping Aurra before she could pull the trigger. He glanced in the general direction of the Jedi, brow furrowed, trying to seek them out. They held absolutely still and tried to keep their minds cloaked.
A stab of the Force, magnified by some sort of telepathic backup, painfully pierced their defenses, and soon every eye in the camp was on them.
"You think you can hide from a Kruvexian so easily?" Krad demanded, giving a grim smile. "And don't you think there's a reason we camped so close to Mos Eisley? And allowed the Tuskens to glimpse us so they could warn you?"
"Eat bantha poodoo and die," snarled Hekku.
"Ah, you have fire," he noted. "We'll see if you remain so feisty once my men are through with you." He raised his voice. "Get them! I want them alive!"
The five Jedi ripped their lightsabers from their belts and activated them, drenching the surroundings in blue, green, and red-gold light. Pirates hemmed them in on all sides, their rage-twisted faces images from a nightmare.
/The shuttle!/ Korie told them. /Get in there and we'll fly out!/
"Good idea," Chyna acknowledged, backing toward the ship.
Xna slashed with his lightsaber, slicing a stun rifle in two, then used a blast of the Force to thrust several pirates into their comrades, causing a violent tangle of bodies as they tried to sort themselves out. Emboldened by his success, he darted toward the shuttle.
A Twi'leck lassoed the Ramothian's neck with a fibercord and yanked his head to the side. Hissing in protest, Xna brought his lightsaber around to sever the cord, only to scream in pain as a Mandalorian scorched his tail with a wrist flamethrower. The weapon fell from his tail, and more ropes and cords caught him at both ends as he thrashed wildly like a fish on a line. People went flying everywhere as his writhing body collided with overeager pirates, but it was clear Xna was beyond help.
Korie and Hekku, meanwhile, fought together, back to back, sabers flying in a spectacular dance. They had always fought as a pair, each guarding the other's back, so as a team they were nearly invincible against a foe -- or several foes. But they were hopelessly outnumbered, and it was only a matter of time before Korie howled in pain as a blaster bolt caught her in the arm. Hekku, distracted by her cry, turned to inquire if she was all right, and a human took advantage of the moment to lunge forward and jam a stun baton into his sternum. He opened his mouth in surprise and collapsed. Soon Korie went down, screaming her rage, throwing aside pirates like so many rag dolls but in the end overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Chyna, meanwhile, was almost to the shuttle. Only Krad stood in her way.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, a smirk touching the corners of his mouth.
With all her might she swung her saber, only to have a bar of silver light intercept her sapphire blade. Krad grinned ferally at her and thrust upward, knocking her blow aside. She retaliated with a three-feint maneuver that ended with a slash to the hip, a move he blocked easily.
"The New Jedi Order uses the classic fighting styles, I see," he said approvingly. "The Form Five triple-feint drill, one of my favorites." He stabbed toward her chest, and with a swift parry she knocked his saber upward, only for it to come down and slice through her hood, leaving a burning line down her left cheek.
"Let me guess," she shot back. "Form Two parry-bypass."
"I didn't think you'd know that one, youngling," he crooned. "I'll show you another." And he hammered at her with a flurry of cuts and slashes in which his weapon moved effortlessly from one hand to the other. She recognized the Form Seven cyclone and kept her guard up, waiting for the opening that usually came after the seventh or eighth cut. When he made a high slash that left his entire left side wide open for a fraction of a second, she plunged forward.
A thrust of the Force knocked her backward several meters, and she landed quite roughly in a stack of crates. Dazed, she groped for her weapon, only to feel a hand grip her wrist. Someone else grabbed her other arm while another immobilized her legs. Krad smiled in triumph as he stood over her, holding her lightsaber and his gray eyes afire with delight.
"I knew there was an opening in that attack," he said smoothly. "And I was counting on you taking advantage of it. Don't fear, Padawan. You and your friends will come to no harm."
"Bastard," she hissed, spitting on his armor. She continued to spout names until a Force- touch on his part blacked her out.
Gabriel, who had witnessed the battle but could do nothing about it, seeing as he was holding off some adversaries of his own, screamed a denial when he saw Chyna thrown down. He scowled at the Bith who was in his way, punched him in the face, and ran to help her, but Aurra Sing blocked his path. An expression of sadistic joy illuminated her cadaverous face as she ignited a scarlet lightsaber.
"It's been so long since I've fought a real Jedi," she said breathlessly.
"Oh, and you want the chance now?" he asked, making a low slash for her knees.
"Don't get cocky, pup," she bit out as she parried the blow. "I was killing your kind back when being a Jedi meant something."
He executed a complicated series of blows, hoping to tangle her up enough to make an error. When that strategy failed he opted for something simpler, bringing the saber down toward her nearly-bald head like a cleaver. She blocked the slash, of course, but missed the knee coming up to dig into her stomach. With a grunt she collapsed, and he kicked her aside to get to Chyna.
Fire erupted in his shoulder, and he buckled under the pain. He looked up to see Nigel standing over him, his face expressionless, his fingers clutching the hilt of the knife that protruded from Gabriel's shoulder. He reached up to grab the man's wrist, but Nigel dragged the knife down his arm, ripping apart muscle, and he gave a hoarse cry of pain and crumpled into a fetal position.
Nigel hauled him up to his knees by his injured arm and pinned his arms behind him. "I hate doing this, Gabe, I really do. But I haven't got a choice."
"Oui," replied Gabriel, not quite able to suppress his sarcasm. "You're a real mate, you know that?"
"I'm sorry, but we aren't geeks-in-arms anymore," Nigel countered. "We're soldiers on opposite sides of a war. Deal with it."
Aurra held the point of her saber to Gabriel's throat. "Let me kill him, Krad. It's been too long. Let my blade taste Jedi blood."
"No," Krad ordered, stepping into Gabriel's field of vision. "We need the Jedi alive for the plan."
Gabriel had only a few seconds to digest that before the Kruvexian pulled his lightsaber from his belt and clubbed him over the head with it.
Hekku grumbled and clamped a pillow over his head to muffle the racket. He'd been up most of the night chasing a pack of pirates through Mos Eisley. Didn't he deserve some sleep?
"Jedi Hekku, your Tusken amigo is here!" Ricardo shouted through the door. "He's in a panic, and we can't get him to talk Basic for us!"
Reluctantly he grabbed his lightsaber and rolled out of bed. At least he was Geonosian and didn't have to waste time bothering with cumbersome clothes. If all species had exoskeletons, few people would complain about there not being enough hours in the day.
The other Jedi were already heading for the bar when he stepped out of the room. Wor'arran was in a fine state, gibbering in Tusken, terror leeching from him so strongly Hekku wouldn't have been surprised if Skywalker could feel it all the way back at Madman's Crown. Xna tried to get him to hush and repeat himself in Basic, but to no avail.
"What the stang's that savage babbling about?" demanded a member of the Modal Nodes.
"Hang on, we'll find out," Hekku replied. He clapped a hand on Wor'arran's good arm and released a flood of the Force into him, calming him. The Tusken gave a blissful sigh and sagged into Korie's arms.
/You overdid it/ Korie told him.
"Well, excuse me for trying," Hekku grumped.
Chyna placed her hands on Wor'arran's temples, and he snapped back to life.
"Jedi! Great trouble! Scouts see pirates!"
"Where?" demanded Xna.
"In the Dune Sea! Hundreds! Men in armor with them -- you call Mandalorians! More come by dozens!"
If Wor'arran had anything else to say, the Jedi didn't hear. They bolted from the cantina and charged down the main street. Hekku vaulted over a repulsorsled in his haste to keep up with his longer-legged companions.
At last Gabriel slowed, holding up his hands to get the others to stop.
"May I ask why we are all running hell-bent for the pirates?" he asked. "Should we not think of some less suicidal strategy before investigating? I, for one, would like to help Tatooine as a living Jedi and not a ghost."
Korie barked in laughter. /Good point. I guess we all just panicked like Wor'arran at the news./
"We'll tell the Republic troops to keep on high alert," Chyna suggested. "If the pirates attack, they can hold them off until reinforcements arrive. Tonight, we'll sneak in and check things out."
The triple moons of Tatooine faintly illuminated the desert landscape, crescents of pearl in the bejeweled night sky. The five Jedi crept across the crack-riddled ground beneath the moons' watchful sentry, slipping from rock to crevice to shadow in an effort to conceal themselves. A mere half of a kilometer ahead, the cooking fires, stacked supply crates, and unmoving hulks of transports were visible. Shouts of laughter and drunken conversation further betrayed the camp's location.
"They must've flunked the stealth portion of their pirate education," Chyna noted, glancing sideways at Gabriel. The two of them wore black robes and gloves, and black hoods with eye and mouth holes covered their faces, making them look decidedly roguish.
Korie caught up with the two humans, panting slightly, still giving off the odor of chemicals. The Jedi had spent most of the day dyeing her fur black -- a silver Wookie was only too visible at night. Xna, too, had been liberally smeared with dark paint to avoid detection. Hekku, luckily, was dark already and needed no camouflage.
Gingerly Gabriel raised his scope to scan the campsite. "From where I sit, I see about... oh, four dozen. Perhaps five. There must be more, though. They're sitting on enough supplies to feed our refugees for a month."
/I'd like to know what they're doing just sitting out here, waiting to be discovered/ Korie demanded. /Something just doesn't smell right./
"It's the dye," Hekku replied.
"It's an expression, cricket-man," Gabriel told him.
"I knew that," Hekku shot back. "Can't I kid her?"
"Ssssshut up!" hissed Xna.
Gabriel handed the scope to Chyna. "What do you see?"
She pursed her lips as she swept her gaze across the camp. "Niktos, Klatoonians, Rodians, humans, Bothans, Sakiyans, one Wookie with a bad case of mange... and lots of Mandalorians. They've really expanded their numbers, haven't they?"
"Let'ssss go in for a clossssser look," suggested Xna.
"Merci, but I like my guts where they are, Xna," Gabriel replied.
/We can use the Force to cloak ourselves/ Korie suggested. /A quick peek, mind. I don't fancy being caught by them either./
They emerged from their hiding place and marched into camp. The pirates paid them little heed, their gazes being turned aside by gentle nudges of the Force. If one happened to brush by a Jedi, he merely assumed he or she was a fellow pirate.
The rogues were obviously in high spirits tonight. Liquor and boastful stories flowed freely, and delicious aromas from cooking fires perfumed the air. Some showed off a particular valuable gained from a strike and bragged about their challenges obtaining it, while others sang boisterous songs in dreadfully off-key voices. Games of sabaac and tunes played badly on stolen musical instruments were also common.
Gabriel paused, a pained expression crossing his eyes.
/What is it?/ sent Korie.
His gaze flickered toward a human talking animatedly with a gap-toothed Besalisk. The muscular, shaven-headed man wore a too-small sleeveless flightsuit and a belt heavy with knives and blades of all sorts, some utilitarian, others exotic. Around his neck he wore a pendant bearing the Imperial insignia, and on his upper arm was a tattoo of a skull with a sword through its eye socket.
/What about him?/ she asked.
/I know him/ he sent back sadly. /Nigel McDonnel, of the London England Garrison of the Fighting 501st, a stormtrooper impersonator. And a good friend./
She sighed quietly. /I'm sorry./
He snorted and kept walking.
In the center of the camp, five figures stood near an Imperial shuttle. The first was a dingy gray-and-red astromech droid projecting a holographic image, though this was deactivated before the Jedi could get a good look at it. The second was the bounty hunter Aurra Sing, as willowy and brutal-looking as ever despite the passage of thirty years. The third was a blue-skinned Mon Calamari with yellow blotches down his face and wearing a white robe with the crest of Kruvex on either shoulder, most likely the pirate representative. The fourth, a Mandalorian with green-and-red armor similar to Boba Fett's, seemed to be the leader of his order. The fifth towered over his comrades, an imposing figure in black lizard-skin armor and a Matrix-style trench coat, with broad shoulders, a strong-jawed angular face, and lekku-like scalp appendages that hung down to his shoulders like dreadlocks.
"It will be done as you say, Krad," Aurra said.
"It's insane," the Mon Calamari stated firmly. "If we're caught at this, it's the firing squad for all of us."
"Then we'll be sure not to be caught, Monar," the tall one the Jedi assumed was Krad said, rolling his Rs as he spoke.
"It's a grand plan," the Mandalorian said with barely contained enthusiasm. "Especially since the Skywalkers have already made it necessary for Krad to kill two of my best warriors."
"An eye for an eye, is it?" Aurra grinned.
"For all of us," Krad said broodingly. "At last my mother can rest in peace, for soon her murder will be avenged."
Chyna gave her comrades a wide-eyed look. /This is him! The leader! The son of Zorn!/
"I don't like it," Monar said gravely.
"Having second thoughts, are we?" Aurra hissed.
"I support Krad one hundred percent!" Monar cried, watery eyes wide. "But killing a Jedi is a serious offense..."
"Whereas killing a sniveling pirate is beneath me," Krad finished, flicking his claws dismissively. "Remove him from my sight, Aurra. Permanently."
"No!" Monar squealed as she threw an arm around him and planted the muzzle of a blaster under his chin. "I take it back! I'll fight Skywalker..."
Krad held up his hand, stopping Aurra before she could pull the trigger. He glanced in the general direction of the Jedi, brow furrowed, trying to seek them out. They held absolutely still and tried to keep their minds cloaked.
A stab of the Force, magnified by some sort of telepathic backup, painfully pierced their defenses, and soon every eye in the camp was on them.
"You think you can hide from a Kruvexian so easily?" Krad demanded, giving a grim smile. "And don't you think there's a reason we camped so close to Mos Eisley? And allowed the Tuskens to glimpse us so they could warn you?"
"Eat bantha poodoo and die," snarled Hekku.
"Ah, you have fire," he noted. "We'll see if you remain so feisty once my men are through with you." He raised his voice. "Get them! I want them alive!"
The five Jedi ripped their lightsabers from their belts and activated them, drenching the surroundings in blue, green, and red-gold light. Pirates hemmed them in on all sides, their rage-twisted faces images from a nightmare.
/The shuttle!/ Korie told them. /Get in there and we'll fly out!/
"Good idea," Chyna acknowledged, backing toward the ship.
Xna slashed with his lightsaber, slicing a stun rifle in two, then used a blast of the Force to thrust several pirates into their comrades, causing a violent tangle of bodies as they tried to sort themselves out. Emboldened by his success, he darted toward the shuttle.
A Twi'leck lassoed the Ramothian's neck with a fibercord and yanked his head to the side. Hissing in protest, Xna brought his lightsaber around to sever the cord, only to scream in pain as a Mandalorian scorched his tail with a wrist flamethrower. The weapon fell from his tail, and more ropes and cords caught him at both ends as he thrashed wildly like a fish on a line. People went flying everywhere as his writhing body collided with overeager pirates, but it was clear Xna was beyond help.
Korie and Hekku, meanwhile, fought together, back to back, sabers flying in a spectacular dance. They had always fought as a pair, each guarding the other's back, so as a team they were nearly invincible against a foe -- or several foes. But they were hopelessly outnumbered, and it was only a matter of time before Korie howled in pain as a blaster bolt caught her in the arm. Hekku, distracted by her cry, turned to inquire if she was all right, and a human took advantage of the moment to lunge forward and jam a stun baton into his sternum. He opened his mouth in surprise and collapsed. Soon Korie went down, screaming her rage, throwing aside pirates like so many rag dolls but in the end overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Chyna, meanwhile, was almost to the shuttle. Only Krad stood in her way.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, a smirk touching the corners of his mouth.
With all her might she swung her saber, only to have a bar of silver light intercept her sapphire blade. Krad grinned ferally at her and thrust upward, knocking her blow aside. She retaliated with a three-feint maneuver that ended with a slash to the hip, a move he blocked easily.
"The New Jedi Order uses the classic fighting styles, I see," he said approvingly. "The Form Five triple-feint drill, one of my favorites." He stabbed toward her chest, and with a swift parry she knocked his saber upward, only for it to come down and slice through her hood, leaving a burning line down her left cheek.
"Let me guess," she shot back. "Form Two parry-bypass."
"I didn't think you'd know that one, youngling," he crooned. "I'll show you another." And he hammered at her with a flurry of cuts and slashes in which his weapon moved effortlessly from one hand to the other. She recognized the Form Seven cyclone and kept her guard up, waiting for the opening that usually came after the seventh or eighth cut. When he made a high slash that left his entire left side wide open for a fraction of a second, she plunged forward.
A thrust of the Force knocked her backward several meters, and she landed quite roughly in a stack of crates. Dazed, she groped for her weapon, only to feel a hand grip her wrist. Someone else grabbed her other arm while another immobilized her legs. Krad smiled in triumph as he stood over her, holding her lightsaber and his gray eyes afire with delight.
"I knew there was an opening in that attack," he said smoothly. "And I was counting on you taking advantage of it. Don't fear, Padawan. You and your friends will come to no harm."
"Bastard," she hissed, spitting on his armor. She continued to spout names until a Force- touch on his part blacked her out.
Gabriel, who had witnessed the battle but could do nothing about it, seeing as he was holding off some adversaries of his own, screamed a denial when he saw Chyna thrown down. He scowled at the Bith who was in his way, punched him in the face, and ran to help her, but Aurra Sing blocked his path. An expression of sadistic joy illuminated her cadaverous face as she ignited a scarlet lightsaber.
"It's been so long since I've fought a real Jedi," she said breathlessly.
"Oh, and you want the chance now?" he asked, making a low slash for her knees.
"Don't get cocky, pup," she bit out as she parried the blow. "I was killing your kind back when being a Jedi meant something."
He executed a complicated series of blows, hoping to tangle her up enough to make an error. When that strategy failed he opted for something simpler, bringing the saber down toward her nearly-bald head like a cleaver. She blocked the slash, of course, but missed the knee coming up to dig into her stomach. With a grunt she collapsed, and he kicked her aside to get to Chyna.
Fire erupted in his shoulder, and he buckled under the pain. He looked up to see Nigel standing over him, his face expressionless, his fingers clutching the hilt of the knife that protruded from Gabriel's shoulder. He reached up to grab the man's wrist, but Nigel dragged the knife down his arm, ripping apart muscle, and he gave a hoarse cry of pain and crumpled into a fetal position.
Nigel hauled him up to his knees by his injured arm and pinned his arms behind him. "I hate doing this, Gabe, I really do. But I haven't got a choice."
"Oui," replied Gabriel, not quite able to suppress his sarcasm. "You're a real mate, you know that?"
"I'm sorry, but we aren't geeks-in-arms anymore," Nigel countered. "We're soldiers on opposite sides of a war. Deal with it."
Aurra held the point of her saber to Gabriel's throat. "Let me kill him, Krad. It's been too long. Let my blade taste Jedi blood."
"No," Krad ordered, stepping into Gabriel's field of vision. "We need the Jedi alive for the plan."
Gabriel had only a few seconds to digest that before the Kruvexian pulled his lightsaber from his belt and clubbed him over the head with it.