Chapter Twenty-Two
Khabarakh froze in anguish as the tractor beam stole his control over his tiny ship. This was it. A tiny mew of rage rattled in the back of his throat as his ship was pulled in.
Unless he informed them of his new allegiance to the Mal'ary'ush, they would terminate him for abandoning his post without orders. If he informed them that he had changed allegiance from the Grand Admiral Thrawn to the Heir of the Lord Vader, then they would kill him for treason without a second thought.
This was it. He had failed.
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Zylar and Tanyr both bent their heads over the plans for a slave-rigged Dreadnaught. They were going to have to blow up all of the ships if they were going to be able to do as the Black Fighter commanded. Zylar sighed. "They're so beautiful. It's such a shame we have to waste them."
"I know," Tanyr said grumpily. "But it's not our call to make. If we double up on the explosives here," he pointed at one side of the power cells on the flimsi-plast spread out flat on the table. "That should knock the explosion into what's left of the power cells and possibly give us an even bigger damage radius. What d'you think?"
"I think I wish I had a couple of seismic charges right about now," Zylar muttered, chewing on the ends of her ponytail. They both fell quiet for a short while, each absorbed in their own thoughts.
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I object!
Oh, you object do you? Well, then try this one. You're a bloody miserable failure and shouldn't be allowed here!
I beg your pardon??
You botched up the last THREE assignments that we've been given!
Actually, that was you ol' chap.
Excuse me??
It was on that note that Zekk groggily shook his head, trying to wake up. He regretted it. His head hurt worse then anything he'd ever felt! Well, except for when he had jumped down to save Lady Jade… And when he'd stepped on that vibroblade… And when a speeder had hit him going above the limit… But in those ones he knew that it wasn't his fault and that he could blame it on someone else! Usually the other voices in the stone actually.
You okay kid? Djai asked.
My… Head…
Djai gave a dry chuckle, If I didn't know the real reason behind it, I'd say you have one mother of a hangover.
"A… a what? Oh my head…" Zekk whimpered as he rubbed his small hands over his face, brushing his too long bangs out of his bleary emerald eyes. The pressure was everywhere but worst behind his eyes.
The tears were no relief.
"Hey," a husky voice called from his door which managed to open without his knowledge. "Can I come in? I have something for that headache of yours." Mara added alluringly, a hesitant smile banishing the hard look in her eyes.
Djai then did something he almost never did; he took control of Zekk's body and forced it to do as he commanded.
"Meds? Force bless you ma'am, give 'em!" Zekk-controlled-by-Djai fairly scrambled out of bed, his bloodshot eyes slightly wild.
Mara didn't know Zekk well enough to understand that he was being controlled and decided to tease him a bit. A fiendish grin lit up her face with suppressed delight as she held aloft a syringe. She closed her fist about the small vial of the real pain medication – a liquid that tasted suspiciously like grapes, but mostly like medicine - behind her back. Zekk took one look at the long pointy needle and for a second time in less then fifteen hours the palace echoed with the shill scream of a panicked child.
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Was there ever a moment that you could simply relax and let life pass you by? Not if you wanted to live through the moment, Black Fighter grimaced. It wasn't that she loved bloodshed and intelligence work, well, in a way she did, but, she knew that there were only so many other ways you could survive. She had none of them. Clones rarely do.
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The eleven eyed alien was cowering on the floor before a holoprojection, "I swear, it was there, Mightiness." The room was at the supposedly "comfortable" temperature of 39 degrees celcius and his body was trying to cool down. His clothes were drenched and he could feel the rough cloth sticking to his body where it lay flush against his skin and where it wasn't, pools of sweat were forming. Frell, you can't even inform something right! But it was right there! She came from the same segment of the wall every night! Routine! Pure vanilla routine!
"Ah, I understand… The palace has a secret chamber built that which only you can see and can not be found on any plans or by any type of equipment built for that exact reason. It is also in a part of the Palace which people do not usually go and no one else – ever – has even heard of anyone walking around in the dead of night. Much less one matching your description of her that you called, oh what was it… oh yes. 'Blonde hair, rather small build, nymph like, always dresses in silver and blue and is totally unforgettable.' Those were your exact words. Exactly wrong. There is no person by that description in the palace!"
"Per-perhaps she only-only dr-dresses like that a-a-at ni-igh-night?"
"Forget her clothes! There are no small nymph-like blondes! How could you be so imbecilic! I almost tipped my hand." The boss hissed, anger blazing in the two black hollows that held the eyes. "Now I want you to find out who that person is, and this time, capture her. I don't care what you have to do."
The connection was broken and the intelligence agent groaned.
These late nights were killing him…
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Taz stormed down the stairs, her temper set off by her older brother. "Who does he think he is? I'll show him! He's so protective of everything… Huh, it'll serve him right!"
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Choen paced in her bedroom, wanting to go out to search for her "wayward" daughter Aliané and going fairly mad with the inactivity. She had instructed all of the staff to keep a sharp eye out for Aliané but who knew if they would or even could do their jobs? "Oh Force… Where could she be??" A slamming door alerted her to her youngest daughter's distress and she hurried out after her.
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Jer looked at his pillows in dismay. Or rather, looked at what had been his pillows. Tazmania hadn't left much of them in one piece. Well, at least the feathers are still slightly whole…
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"And then he started hitting me with his pillows…" Tazmania wailed, her tears soaking her mother's bodice. "Oh mommy, he was so mean! And now my head hurts and… and…." She was sobbing too hard to go on.
Choen stroked her daughter's back. Her temper, being on a short fuse already over Alianè, burst into full flame at the mistaken account of her son's mistreatment of her daughter. "Shh, shh Tazy… Don't worry, Jer was a bad boy and will be punished for this… Shhh…" Taz's shaking shoulders slowly changed from sobs to laughter as she tried to sound dutifully harmed by her older brother.
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Jer had raided the linen closet and was attempting to re-stuff the feathers back in. "Ptha!" he spat another one out and groaned as a cloud of them rose up from the case and fell all over the floor. Again. Almost half of them he had decided, were decorating his hair and clothes. "Bawk-bawk," he grumbled, "I don't even like chickens all that much…"
His door slammed open abruptly and he jumped, then wondered abstractly where the huge clashing of the cymbals were, that's what always happens in the holofilms… "Jer? I am ashamed of you!" His mother announced, her eyes blazing down at him. "Attacking Tazmania like that when she tried to ask for help with her homework, I trained you better!"
"Huh?"
"Attacking small girls? Attacking your sister?? And rocks in the pillows! What has gotten into you!"
"Hey, mom, I did no-"
"Stop it! I don't want to hear any more of your lies! You, young man, are grounded!"
Jer was left holding a partially filled pillow with feathers floating through the air as his furious mother slammed the door shut. He blinked rather stupidly and looked at the linen he was holding. "Oh maaan…."
The door opened a little and the vicious, victorious smirking face of his seven year old sister peered in, "Aww, did widow Jewwy get in twobow? Oh poow widow Jewwy…"
"Taz, shut up, get out." He glared at her as best he could, one feather stubbornly attached to one eyebrow and blocking his view partially.
Tazmania gave a mock gasp and clasped both hands to her face in a look in a classic "Home Alone" (that was one of the first movies "Rikkie" had made, back when he was six; Jo loved it) pose. "My goodness! How horrid!"
Jer rolled his eyes and threw his hands up, emptying his pillow completely. "Why me? Why me?"
"Jer, let me give you some advice." Her face turned cold and she leaned in a bit, "Don't mess with me. You'll lose."
"I will?" Jer cocked one eyebrow.
"Correct."
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A tall woman in a white outfit pushed open a door with a small golden plaque reading "D. R. Spectra, M.D. Head of Psychiatric, Neurology and Central Nervous System Wards". Della Ray Spectra, Del Ray to her friends, was the leading doctor concerning the intricacies of the human mind in the Hapan Cluster; specializing in neurology, correcting spinal cord injuries and psychosurgery. Her work dealing with mind-blocks, recovering amnesia and other mental problems was considered of the finest quality in the galaxy and was sought after by people she never would have thought of. Keying her computer terminal on, she fairly fell over when she saw she had a message from the Royal House. Sha scanned it quickly and called for her secretary. The young woman bustled into the room and read over her shoulder, her eyes wider then saucers as she went further into the letter.
The room was cloaked in silence then the secretary broke in, "You're going to go, aren't you?"
"Of course! Book me on a flight, yesterday!"
"Right away!"
Del Ray was going to the Palace of One Thousand Fountains.
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Carson was still trapped in the past, her body reacting to memories that were spinning endlessly in her mind. Ghosts that had died resurrected themselves to torment her, teasing her sanity and threatening to steal it. Blood was everywhere and a blaster in her hand. Even as she killed another one of them, they rose, the blood spilling down their bodies and their skin growing pale, to point an accusing finger at her, raining accusations on her.
Killer.
Murderer.
Slaughterer.
Criminal.
Killer.
A Waste.
Kill Her.
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Rosie blessed her lucky stars as she filled a cup with icy water – if her father hadn't been the first officer, she knew that her ship would never have been outfitted with water. Sonic was simply more efficient and less space consuming. And would so have not worked for right now. Racing back to her room, she kept one hand firmly over the top of the glass to keep the precious water in. All of a sudden a rush of fear flew through her system and she stopped dead in her tracks. Shaking her head firmly, she pounded on the door controls impatiently, "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…" Rosie blinked in surprise as the doors opened. Carson wasn't in there. But… Wasn't… Dankin?? What was he doing in here?
"Hey, Dankin…" Rosie called out cautiously, "what gives?"
Dankin froze and something made Rosie throw her cup at him and dive for the floor and roll right, then somersault forwards landing up by his feet. For no reason she thought, until she saw the large blaster in his hand and the small darts imbedded in the wall, door and the four between Carson's shoulder-blades.
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Booster rapped on the door, it was large and made entirely from wood with rough black metal hinges. The fact that it was made from wood was in itself enough to make him pause. Wood was used for ancient heirlooms, small boxes, trinkets, and if you were exceptionally rich, you could afford to outfit your house with wooden furniture. Occasionally you would find a world backwards enough to be condemned that still made their houses from wood or perhaps a person who owned a world and had so many security devices and plans in place that they could manage the cost of having a home made from wood. There was one family – Zaien if he remembered correctly – that was one of those. I should probably look up Nevyin if I get the chance… He was a great friend. He blinked, and refocused on the door. Neviyn had a house made of wood, these people only had a door. Granted it was a door on the scale of giants, at the top of the arch it was at least four meters and it was about two and a half meters across. Monstrous, all things considered. There was a large cut running though the center of the door, probably a defect of some type, Booster decided with a shrug.
He was wrong. The doors – it was two doors, not one – opened inward slowly, a man dressed impeccably in a red costume that nearly moved Booster to tears it was so hideous. The man also had his hair all curled, Force what a ridiculous looking chap.
"Yes? What may I do for you sir?"
"Is this Jo's house? I think her last name is Joran."
"Jo Joran? I'm sorry sir but I can't help. This is the Joran's residence but there is no one in the family named 'Jo'. I'm terribly sorry sir."
"Wait–"
"Yes, sir?"
"She's about so tall," Booster gestured about the middle of his chest, "curly brown hair, light brown eyes and ten years old. Are you sure she doesn't live here?"
"Miss Alianè!"
"Excuse me?"
"Oh bless the Maker, Mistress! Mistress!" The man turned and ran off, calling for his mistress.
Another guard appeared where the other had been and aimed a blaster at Booster's head and snapped his fingers. Two men came from almost literally nowhere to grab Booster's arms and pull him into the household, each of them also holding a blaster on him.
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Tenel Ka felt the faintest stirrings of jealousy. How come you get to sit up?//
Trust me kid, if I knew…Javen responded with distaste, eyeing the hovering ladies with wary horror. They won't go away! I scream and scream and all they do is hover even more! They're like the thing that wouldn't die!//
Want me to do something about it?
Like what?Javen asked suspiciously.
One word: fired.//
It sounds like it has promise…
It has more then promise – it'll work.
Okay, do it.
Tenel Ka rolled over once, having spent hours imitating Javen on it and finally gotten it right. Rolling once more, she was at the very edge of the bed, next to the railing that was keeping her from falling down. It didn't even take all that much control to snap the controls – literally – and deactivate the holding mechanism. With a shill laugh that startled the others in the room, Tenel Ka rolled off the bed.
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AHH!!! TENEL KA!!! wails