Disclaimer
George Lucas: Owner of Star Wars.
Me: Bored teenager with way too much time on my hands.
See the difference? 'Nuff said.
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Elias looked back but couldn't see Wid anymore. He clung to the cable launcher for dear life, trying to stay alive for a while before he decided to let the cable draw him in.
Danya looked down and saw him, her face a mask of pure rage. Nervously he gripped the cable launcher tighter and hit the button to reel it in.
Shots began to come down at him from above. Danya was firing again. Elias managed to swing back and forth on the cable as it towed him up, avoiding the shots narrowly.
"Danya, please, just listen to me!" he shouted to her.
"You had your chance!" Danya yelled back, turning and firing off three more shots.
When Elias was about halfway to the speeder bike, Danya stopped firing at him suddenly. He saw her aiming at something, and then she fired. The laser hit the cable and went clear through it.
An instant before it hit, Elias realized what Danya was trying to do, and he managed to push his hands off the cable launcher as hard as he could, and grabbed the cable again just above where it had been severed.
The bare cable was rough and hard to hold on to. With fierce determination Elias climbed hand over hand, his legs dangling as he went towards the speeder bike.
Danya kept shooting, and Elias found that the cord was too short to swing on, so he had to quickly twist his body aside to avoid being hit.
"Danya, we can resolve this! Stop shooting!" Elias shouted.
"I told you Elias! This is for Father!" Danya yelled, firing again.
"Aah!" Elias cried out as he kicked his feet, swinging aside just in time.
Danya now gave up shooting, and sharply turned the speeder bike, trying to throw her brother off.
With clenched teeth, Elias held on tightly. He felt his legs scrape some tree branches, and his pant leg was quickly snagged on one, dragging him down the cord slightly and burning his hands before he managed to shake himself free.
"Danya!" he shouted.
She did not reply as she sharply spun the speeder bike around again, bashing Elias's legs against a tree trunk.
Elias slipped again, nearing the end of the cord, but still tried to hold on. He gave up on trying to climb onto the bike.
Danya suddenly veered abruptly towards the palace, swinging Elias's body at the hard stone wall.
Elias shouted, and stuck out his legs. His feet hit the wall, and his boots slid along the stone wall of the palace as he still clung to the short length of cable.
Danya angrily steered the bike straight up in the air, and then pointed it back down. The abrupt change of direction almost yanked the cable from Elias's hands.
Danya went down until she was less than a meter away from the ground and straightened out. The bike hovered there as it zoomed ahead.
Elias's legs hit the ground and he was dragged in the dirt temporarily. Quickly he struggled to his feet and stuck them out in front of his body. Then he started to run, pumping his legs as hard as he could as he kept his iron grip on the cable.
Danya pulled up again, dragging Elias with her.
As they zoomed along, Danya went faster and faster, now hoping that the speed would drag Elias off the cable.
As they went even faster, Elias found he was slipping. Despair overwhelmed him. Now there was no way to save Crixxin.
All of the sudden, he heard a small explosion. He looked at the swoop, squinting with all the wind, and saw flames and smoke billowing from the engine of the speeder bike. Someone had shot it!
The bike instantly began to lose altitude, going down faster and faster. Elias still clung to the cable until the last minute, letting go just as the nose of the speeder bike began to hit the ground.
Elias hit the ground and rolled for a moment. He stopped and staggered to his feet, leaning against a nearby tree for support as he panted heavily, getting his breath back.
He watched the twisted metal wreckage as it burned, and suddenly a shape rose from the other side of the flames.
"Danya?" he called.
Instantly three laser shots came towards him. Elias cursed horribly and ducked behind the tree he had been leaning against.
"You should have joined my side, Elias! Or at least stayed out of this! The Crixxians must die!" Danya shouted.
Elias peeked around the tree trunk, and immediately his sister fired at him, the shots hitting the tree.
"Danya, we… We can resolve this!… I told you all ready… We've signed a treaty to… To resolve this! We don't need to fight!" Elias called back to her, still gasping for breath.
"You're wrong, Elias!" shouted Danya.
Elias leaned against the tree heavily, panting.
"Danya!… This can be resolved peacefully!" he gasped.
"No it can't! If you are going to stand in the way, I'll have to move you myself!" Danya yelled. Elias heard her start to come closer.
"Dammit," he muttered. His hand flashed for his holster, but it was empty. His blaster must have fallen out during the wild ride. He felt something in his pocket next to the small hologram generator he always carried, and pulled out the vibroblade Wid had given him earlier.
Elias glanced around the tree again, and instantly ducked back, narrowly avoiding that lasers that were fired at him. Looking down at the vibroblade in his hand, an idea suddenly came to mind. It was pretty hopeless, but it just could work. So far luck had been with him.
He firmly gripped the vibroblade, and charged out into the open. He ran at Danya, zigzagging back and forth as he approached her to throw off her aim.
With a roar he lunged, swinging the vibroblade at the blaster and knocking it from her hand.
As Danya staggered backwards, she darted aside and her hand went to her belt. She yanked a vibroblade out from its sheath, and instantly jabbed it at Elias.
Elias jumped back. He wasn't trying to kill his sister, only disarm her to make her listen.
Danya threw herself at him, jabbing and swinging with all her might. She truly did want to kill him.
Elias jumped back and forth, blocking her attacks. Even if he wanted to retaliate there was no time to between strikes. All he could do was hope to disarm her once more.
"Danya, this is foolish! I'm telling you, we can stop this without bloodshed! Just listen to me! Call off the attack and listen to me!" Elias said as he swung his blade to the side, smacking hers away from his neck.
"No! I've told you, you can't convince me otherwise!" shouted Danya, trying to snake her arm around his blade to stab him in the chest.
"Don't make this mistake! This battle will not help the problem, it will only escalate it more and tear this planet apart!" Elias said, swiftly blocking her blow and springing aside.
Danya raised her vibroblade above her head and brought it down. Elias instantly lifted his and held it sideways. Danya's blade slammed into it, and they both held their weapons there, pressing harder and harder, trying to overpower each other.
"Danya… I'm not giving up," Elias said through clenched teeth.
"Then you will die!"
"No I won't. I will overpower you. And I shall be gracious about it. I won't kill you," Elias said.
Instantly he shoved his blade forwards, forcing Danya back a few steps. She instantly recovered and charged at him again.
Danya fought furiously, never letting Elias rest. But he found he was not tiring. He knew he had to keep going, or let the planet be destroyed.
"Danya, think of the planet. Think of the children. Do you want them to grow up on a world like this?" Elias asked.
"It is better than being ruled and persecuted by the Crixxians," said Danya.
Danya swung at him, and Elias was filled with a new determination. He swung back, as hard as he could. His vibroblade connected with Danya's so hard it knocked it from her hand.
As it started to fall to the ground, Elias's hand shot out and snatched it. He tossed it into the air again, and sliced clear through it with his own vibroblade.
He then faced Danya. "Now you have to listen to me. I need to show you something," he said, still holding his vibroblade at her throat.
Danya glared at him. "Fine. But it won't do you any good," she snapped.
"Danya, you know as well as I do that our family was peaceful. When our father died, he did not have one thought of killing anyone," Elias said.
"What's your point?" asked Danya.
"My point is-" Elias began, reaching for his pocket.
Just as he began speaking, Danya dove to the ground, rolled. She snatched up her fallen blaster from where it had landed, and came up aiming straight at Elias's heart.
As she did this, Elias continued searching through his pocket. Just as Danya got to her feet, he pulled out the hologram generator he had and pressed two buttons simultaneously, ACTIVATE and RECORD. Instantly an image of five people came up.
Danya froze, her finger less than a millimeter from the trigger of her blaster.
"Remember our family?" asked Elias.
Sure enough, the hologram he held was a picture of their family. All of them together, smiling.
"I… I…" Danya began, unsure of what to say.
"Remember how Father refused to kill Crixxians? Do you remember when he talked Tennin out of doing exactly what you're doing now? Do you remember all the peace that our father made possible? And now you are tearing it apart. This is what Father wanted you say? You think you're doing this for Father? Well you're not. You're not like him. No matter how much you wish you were, you're not. He would never do anything like this, no matter what they did to us first. You have to remember, Danya," Elias said. He looked at her with pleading eyes as the hologram spun slowly about, the smiling faces going past him again and again.
"Elias, I… I…" Danya lowered the blaster.
Elias smiled warmly. "Come on. Let's-"
Just as he spoke, a blaster shot rang out. Danya screamed and crumpled to the ground facedown.
"NOOOO! DANYA!" he roared. Instantly Elias dropped to her side. He looked about, and saw a swoop carrying a Crixxian officer flying by, its rider smiling cruelly.
"YOU BASTARD!" Elias roared. He instantly picked up the fallen blaster and fired. The bolt struck the guard in the back of the head, and he fell off his swoop.
He rolled Danya over onto her back, hiding the blood that covered her clothes.
"Danya!… Danya, no!" Elias said. He cradled her head in his lap, allowing tears to fall from his one eye.
"E-Elias… I… I'm so… So sorry," she gasped.
"No, Danya, don't be sorry! You… You can't die just like this, it's not real!" Elias cried.
"Elias… You… You are right… We don't need more… Fighting… It has to stop," Danya said.
"No, it's all right, it's all right! Really! This isn't happening, it can't be! Don't die, please don't die!" Elias pleaded.
"I love you, brother… I… I'm sorry… You were right… You were right," Danya said.
"No! You can't die, you can't! Not after this! I can get you to one of our medics, he can save you, and then…" Elias sobbed.
Danya slowly reached her slender, pale hand and put it to his rough cheek. "Elias… Good-bye," she said. Danya's head rolled to the side, and her eyes closed.
"Danya? Danya! No… NOOO!" Elias shouted. He lay his head sideways on her chest, and felt no heartbeat.
He swallowed, and hung his head down, holding his sister, kissing her forehead and running his fingers through her long, silky hair.
He picked up the hologram generator. He pressed the playback button. He'd been recording their speech since he'd yanked the generator out of his pocket.
Elias just lay there, holding his sister's inanimate body close and listening to the sound of her voice coming back to him over and over again.
- - -
Del-Mon powerlessly watched as Darmick dragged Leckura away.
Instantly the ring of soldiers surrounding him and the king prodded them with the butts of their rifles and led Del-Mon and Anjos away.
"I'm sorry, Anjos," muttered Del-Mon.
"As am I," Anjos said.
They were shoved into a large, empty room, and Del-Mon looked around, searching for a way out. He could see none.
Anjos did the same, and his results were no less fruitless than Del-Mon's.
The Jedi then turned his gaze to the soldiers, who were busy loading their rifles.
"Can you shoot a blaster rifle well?" Del-Mon muttered.
"Yes, when the situation demands it. Why?" Anjos replied.
"Trust me, the situation demands it," Del-Mon simply answered him.
He instantly focused on one of the rifles that were propped against the wall as one of the soldiers tried to get a reloading cartridge out of his belt. He reached out with the Force, and seized the rifle, pulling it towards him.
"Hey!" cried one of the guards. He lunged for his weapon, but it was all ready in Del-Mon's hands.
"Here!" Del-Mon quickly thrust the rifle to Anjos, and extended a hand, pushing with the Force. He knocked two guards backwards and into a wall.
Nearly half the guards fell, victims to Anjos's deadly accuracy. Del-Mon quickly spun around on his heel, and a group of four laser bolts flew past him. He kept reaching out when he had the chance and would sweep the guards against the walls with the Force, usually knocking them out.
Anjos fired off a few more shots, and finally the remaining guards fell to the ground.
He sighed in relief and wiped his sweaty brow on his shirtsleeve. "Let's go, we have to save Leckura!" he cried.
"One moment!" Del-Mon said. He quickly jogged to the fallen guards, and rolled the one he assumed was the captain over onto his back. He instantly spotted what he was looking for, and snatched his lightsaber up. Somehow he felt relieved and at ease with his lightsaber in its familiar place at his hip.
"Come on, we probably don't have much time!" Del-Mon said, bolting out the door with Anjos at his heels.
"Where would Darmick go if he wanted to make a quick escape?" asked Del-Mon as they ran.
"Probably through the garden! It's the fastest route to the royal hangar," Anjos replied.
"Then that's where we're headed. How do we get there?" asked Del-Mon.
"This way," Anjos said, beckoning as he turned right down another corridor.
They ran down the twisting labyrinth of corridors and out into the garden finally. Del-Mon froze at the doorway.
"What is it?" asked Anjos, stopping and standing in the middle of the garden path.
Del-Mon looked around, his senses alert. "Something isn't right."
Anjos peered about, trying to see through the trees. "I see nothing unusual," he said.
"I don't think you'll be able to see it- Get out of the way!" cried Del-Mon. The instant he spoke, a muffled sound of blaster fire came from one of the nearby trees.
Anjos jumped backwards just in time, the laser shooting past the place his head had just been and embedding itself in a tree trunk.
"Snipers!" Anjos cried.
A red bolt was suddenly fired at Del-Mon. A split second after he heard the shot his lightsaber was in his hands and activated. He swiftly positioned it, and the blast was deflected back at the tree. He heard a scream, and a body tumbled to the ground.
Del-Mon quickly looked around. "We should move quickly. There are probably more coming."
Anjos needed no second bidding. He took off, Del-Mon following him effortlessly.
Three shots suddenly rang out, one meant for Anjos and the other two streaking towards Del-Mon. Anjos dove off the path, and Del-Mon spun around, deflecting one bolt and neatly stepping aside so that the other missed him. Three guards suddenly stepped out of a thick hedge, their blaster rifles all ready firing again.
"Run!" Del-Mon called. Anjos sprang out from behind a tree and tore off down the path. Occasionally he would spin around to fire a shot or two, or Del-Mon would angle his lightsaber to hit aside a bolt, but other than that they did not slow.
"It's just up here!" Anjos said.
He ran into the trees, and Del-Mon did his best to follow. It was hard to see the king in the dense foliage.
He burst through a large bush that he'd seen the king go by a moment earlier, and ended up in an open path. He spotted a flash of red to his side and spun around, hitting the laser away.
"Del-Mon! Over here!" he heard the king's voice shouting.
Del-Mon spotted the king's hand waving from behind the thick trunk a large kavasa fruit tree. He quickly ran across the stone path, more lasers firing behind him He darted around the trunk leaned against the tree next to the king.
"We've got to get past those two trees! That building is the hangar! There are at least five snipers up there!" Anjos said.
"Well, we certainly don't have much time. Those other guards will catch up with us soon. We'll have to make a break for it," said Del-Mon.
"We've all ready risked our necks twenty times today. Why should once more make a difference?" Anjos sarcastically asked.
"That's the spirit," Del-Mon said with a slight grin.
They both cautiously looked around the tree on either side.
"Go!" Del-Mon said.
Instantly Anjos ran as fast as he could across the path. Del-Mon followed, but tried not to get too close to the king, knowing if they were both together they would make an easier target.
Occasionally Del-Mon would deflect a laser that came straight at him, or jump to miss one that came at his legs from the sides.
He saw Anjos repeatedly ducking or pivoting on his foot as he ran ahead.
Anjos finally stopped at a large, ivy-covered wall. Del-Mon turned his back to the king, and started to skillfully hit the lasers that the snipers kept shooting aside.
"Darmick must have jammed the door!" Anjos cried, smacking the control panel in frustration.
"Cover me," said Del-Mon. Without waiting for a reply he turned around and jammed his lightsaber into the thick metal door. He pressed with all his might, and finally felt it go through. As hard as he could he pushed the blade, slowly forming a circle.
Behind him, King Anjos was firing several shots into the trees, temporarily halting the snipers.
Finally, Del-Mon's lightsaber hit air, and a large slab of the metal door fell away.
"Go!" he shouted.
Right away, Anjos turned and dove through the hole in the door.
Del-Mon hit aside a few more lasers before following, some shots narrowly missing him and hitting the area around the hole instead.
They were inside the hangar now. Cautiously they made their way forward, searching for any trace of the queen. As they walked slowly, Del-Mon suddenly felt something, like a ripple in the Force. He heard a familiar voice in the back of his head.
"Master, I'm alive. I'm coming."
It was Aro-Ken! He was alive after all! Del-Mon didn't know where he was, but he knew his apprentice would come.
"I need your help, Padawan. Hurry, find me." He spoke with his mind, using the Force to channel the message to Aro-Ken.
"I will, Master. I promise," came Aro-Ken's reply.
Del-Mon lost his focus for a moment as he silently rejoiced at the message. Suddenly, he heard a click of a blaster rifle. Instantly he spun around, but was too slow to do anything. He found three blaster rifles aimed at himself and King Anjos. Behind the three guards stood Darmick, holding the queen by the throat and aiming the rifle to her head.
"Come any closer and all three of you die!" Darmick snarled.
- - -
Aro-Ken got up off the floor and grabbed his lightsaber from his belt. He did not activate it, but carried it in his hand just incase he needed it.
Cautiously he looked around. He could sense no one in the hallways. Aro-Ken quickly took off. He reached out and tapped into the living Force, and could sense where it was gathering around Mattan.
He quickly followed the trail, darting into a turbolift and punching the button he assumed was correct.
The lift stopped and he ran out into the hallway, all his senses scanning the area. He rounded a corner, and found Mattan and Dahna looking anxiously out the window, searching for him he assumed.
"Come on… We have to move," Aro-Ken panted.
Dahna looked up with a start, and Mattan calmly turned around.
"Aro-Ken, what took you so long?" Dahna asked.
"The battle outside delayed me a bit… I'll tell you about it later. The turbolift is over here," Aro-Ken said, turning and walking to the lift.
Once they were on the same floor (Aro-Ken hoped) as Del-Mon, they cautiously made their way down the hallways, Aro-Ken in the lead and Dahna at the back.
Mattan was strangely silent as they walked down the hallways. Aro-Ken stopped at every corner and would cautiously look ahead, still carrying his deactivated lightsaber.
Suddenly, the sounds furious shouting and blaster fire reached Aro-Ken's ears as they passed by a huge flight of stairs that stuck to the walls as it went down. He glanced over the waist-high railing, and could see people inside, shooting and cursing.
"Keep walking, the battle has spread to in here. We'll have to move quickly," Aro-Ken said. He picked up his pace slightly.
He glanced over his shoulder, and suddenly spotted two people armed with vibroblades arrive at the top of the stairs, furiously locked in combat.
"It's getting close," Dahna said. Aro-Ken was beginning to sense that she was beginning to doubt him. After all, he was only sixteen.
"Don't worry. The Force will guide us," Aro-Ken answered.
Mattan was still silent. From what Aro-Ken had observed, he'd usually back up the young Jedi in this situation.
"This way," said Aro-Ken, rounding a corner.
As they jogged down the hallway, Aro-Ken heard the sounds of battle clearly growing louder.
"The fighting is getting closer," Dahna said with nervousness in her voice.
"Don't worry. We're not in trouble yet," Aro-Ken said.
He rounded a corner, and then froze. He found five guards standing there.
"All right, now we're in trouble," Aro-Ken corrected himself.
Without blast armor or any weapons, Aro-Ken knew they looked like Atheists, and that was exactly what the guards thought.
"Atheists! Get them!" shouted one man.
"Run! Go that way!" Aro-Ken shouted, pointing behind him with his free hand as he activated his lightsaber at the same time.
"What about you?" he heard Mattan's voice asked.
"I'll catch up, just go, now!" Aro-Ken called.
He heard Mattan and Dahna's retreating footsteps as the guards began to fire.
Instantly Aro-Ken pushed the distracting loud noises of the battle behind him from his mind, concentrating only on staying alive and protecting Dahna and Mattan.
As the red laser bolts streaked towards him, Aro-Ken was everywhere at once, his blue lightsaber just a blur. He spun, jumped, swung, and blocked with all his strength, refusing to tire. He had to give Dahna and Mattan as much time to get away from the guards as possible.
Finally, two guards lay unconscious on the ground. The remaining three, who had grown fearful of the boy's strength and had taken cover, were running out of ammunition.
"Let's get out of here!" one of them cried. The other two wordlessly agreed. They all threw down their blasters and took off down the hallway.
Aro-Ken sighed in relief and took off, running as hard as he could in the direction he'd sent Mattan and his mother.
He finally caught up with them, and stopped briefly to catch his breath. "We need to hurry. Del-Mon is close. I can sense the Force around him," he said.
Aro-Ken kept his lightsaber activated as they went down the hall, repeatedly looking over his shoulder to be sure there was no one following them.
"We're almost there," he said to Dahna.
"Good," Dahna simply replied.
He glanced out a window, and saw that they were several stories above ground. There was nothing below them. They were in a tunnel above the ground. Aro-Ken looked ahead, and saw they were heading towards another building. "That must be the hangar," he said.
"And you think your master is there?" asked Dahna.
"Yes, I can sense his presence," he replied.
Reaching out with the Force, Aro-Ken sent a message to Del-Mon, hoping he'd catch it.
"Master, I'm alive. I'm coming."
To both his joy and amazement, he received an answer.
"I need your help, Padawan. Hurry, find me."
"I will, Master. I promise." Aro-Ken answered.
They arrived at a turbolift. "Get in," Aro-Ken instructed Mattan and Dahna.
They went down to the bottom floor and cautiously exited after the young Jedi had taken a quick look around.
They were indeed in a hangar. It looked like they were in the spare parts room. It was filled with old cooling units and broken hyperdrives and scanners that had long since lost their ability to function.
As they walked towards the door, Aro-Ken suddenly stopped. "There's somebody around that corner," he said.
"Where do you want me and Mattan to hide?" Dahna asked.
Aro-Ken waited a moment. "No, don't hide. My master is with them. We'll have to be cautious though. There may be more guards."
He opened the door and looked around. He couldn't see anyone in the huge clutter of shiny new vehicles, but he could hear voices speaking.
He ducked behind a pile of crates, and motioned for Mattan and Dahna to join him. When they were at his side, he looked. He could see the outlines of a few bodies, but still could not hear what they were saying.
"We have to get closer," Aro-Ken said. Looking around, he spotted a large Nubian model transport with very thick landing struts.
"Come on," he muttered. He still stayed low to the ground as he dashed to the vehicle, turning his body sideways and standing behind the landing struts.
Dahna and Mattan followed, Mattan ducking behind the same strut as Aro-Ken, and Dahna hid behind the one next to them.
Aro-Ken put a hand on Mattan's shoulder and leaned around the strut. He could finally see his master for the first time in three days. The only problem was that Del-Mon was being held at gunpoint.
He and another man who had dark red hair were standing stock-still. Three guards were pointing rifles at their chests. Behind the guards stood an almost old looking man. He held a very nice looking woman by the throat, and was pointing a blaster at her skull.
Aro-Ken nervously watched, his mind racing. He knew he didn't have much time.
Suddenly, a voice shouted, "FATHER!"
Aro-Ken looked down, and discovered that Mattan was gone. He drew in a sharp breath, and spotted the boy running across the floor towards Del-Mon and the other man, who Aro-Ken now assumed was King Anjos.
As he ran, the guards turned, instantly aiming their guns.
"No!" Aro-Ken yelled.
He took off after Mattan, running as fast as he tired muscles would allow him.
"Father, Father!" Mattan called again.
The king turned, and Mattan ran into his arms. Anjos was stunned as he lifted the boy up.
"M-Mattan?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Dad, it's me!" Mattan cried.
Aro-Ken halted at his master's side. "I'm here, Master," he panted.
"Yes, I can see that. Who is your young companion?" asked Del-Mon.
Answering for Aro-Ken, Anjos turned to the three guards as Dahna came to his side.
"Guards, this is my son. His mother was an Atheist. Do you see the union your own king has made? If not for a bond between the two sides, this child would not exist. You can see for yourself that our differences can be overcome. We don't need to fight. There can be unity between the two sides," Anjos said, putting his arm around Dahna's shoulders and holding her close.
"No! Don't listen to him! He lies! Kill all of them!" Darmick screamed from behind.
The three guards looked back and forth uncertainly.
"Darmick is wrong, you must think for yourselves. He has been filling your heads with lie after lie for year after year! You must see the truth. You have to believe me!" Anjos cried.
"He lies! How do you expect to get your Reward if you side with an Atheist?" shouted Darmick, flushing red with rage.
"Guards, do what you will. Just be sure that you will not regret your decisions," Anjos said, firmly standing his ground.
"He's lying!" yelled Darmick.
All of the sudden one guard turned around, and aimed his rifle at Darmick.
"What are you doing?" demanded the flustered Prime Minister.
"What I should have done a long time ago," replied the guard.
"You two, kill him as well!" Darmick snapped at the other two guards.
Slowly, they both turned as well. "No," one of them said.
"What?" demanded Darmick.
"No. I won't do it. I never should have believed you. It is you, Prime Minister, who is lying to us," the guard said.
Angrily Darmick looked at them both. Then he abruptly spun on his heel and took off running, pulling the queen along with him. Before the guards could react, he had disappeared into the clutter of ships.
Without waiting for anything, Aro-Ken tore off after him, Del-Mon at his side. Anjos set down Mattan and joined them.
"Where is he going?" asked Del-Mon as they ran.
"There is an underground passageway that leads back to the palace! He'll probably be taking it!" replied Anjos.
"That's where we're headed," said Del-Mon.
They kept running. Each time Aro-Ken thought Darmick had gotten away, they would round a corner and see his dark blue cloak dart around a corner, or hear the queen call to them.
Finally, as the two Jedi and the king rounded the corner, weapons drawn, they found Darmick back in the throne room. There were no other doors except the one he had entered through.
He looked around, and saw that he was indeed trapped.
Furiously, Darmick turned back to the Jedi and pressed the blaster to the queen's head even harder.
"Well, well, congratulations. You've all just signed the queen's death sentence," he coldly said.
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