One year after the destruction of the Star Forge . . .
J-3109 was a rock of a planet. Despite supporting plant-and animal life it had no indiginous sentient species, it´s mineral content was far to low to warrant a mining operation, it was tactically insignificant and finally it´s location was far out of the way of any important lanes or worlds. In short no-one had the slightest interest in it. It was perfect.
There were no people or distractions, although she would have been lying if she told herself she´d come her for peace. There would be no peace, not ever, and she couldn´t remember anymore if there ever had been. No, she came her for the isolation itself. There were no holonet receivers or newsscreens. Nothing to remind of the past or what was happening to the galaxy. Who was happening to the galaxy. She just couldn´t take it.
With immediate survival being the dominating concern Keena had over the course of her year-long, self-imposed exile made some progress in shutting out the constant background chatter of her mind and the never ending stream of memories and emotions she wanted nothing to do with. Sometimes, however, there were still days when the hunting-and-gathering for food went well and there was no threat to life or limb from predators or storms. And then it all came back, these four miserable years. All the anger and disappointments and wasted opportunities. Occasionally self-loathing poked it´s ugly head through and she cursed herself for a coward, a failure, a fool, a hypocrite, and the list went on and on . . .
No, she certainly couldn´t harbor any thoughts of peace in this place. The best she could hope for were those times when it all faded from her memory and she managed to live only in the moment. To forget, like the galaxy seemed to have forgotten.
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She was in that intermediate state she found herself in every morning, when the growing light was slowly but surely dragging her into the waking world despite her best efforts to the opposite. Keena finally conceded and stretched, cursing the fact that she had never been able to sleep except in darkness.
She had made the wreckage of her shuttle into a home, padding the inside with furs of the animals she had hunted and eaten for the last year to keep out the cold. Even during summertime J-3109 was cold. Her hand reached out as it always did in the morning and felt the cold comfort of the blaster rifle within easy reach. Keena had pretty much cleaned the immediate area of large predators but this frostbitten rock didn´t allow for carelessness. Which was why she had come here after all.
She threw off the blanket and stood up groggily, wiping the sleep from her eyes. As a young padawan she had always meditated in the morning to clear her thoughts and revitalise her body. But not any more. There was no peace to be found in the Force.
Just outside was a small stream she had redirected towards the wreck months ago. She broke the nights´ ice layer and filled a kettle. She had discovered a plant that she used as tea. It wasn´t tasty but at least broke the sensory monotony of this world.
Keena was working on getting the fire going when she felt it. In the previous few days she had been able to ignore it, block it out, but now the feeling was assaulting her with a vengeance: A bussing in the Force, a . . . beckoning. Something was coming, something important enough to ripple through the Force and apparently she was to be part of it.
´´Leave me alone . . . ´´ she muttered under her breath. ´´I´m through.´´
But it didn´t stop. It grew.
And Keena found herself lookin up before she heard it. The sounds were familiar enough. Laser cannons. Engines.
A starship battle.
She brought up the rifle and looked through it´s scope. The tiny pinpricks on the sky revealed themselves to be a small Sith scouting ship firing upon a much smaller Republic shuttle. The shuttle was firing back but was clearly outmatched. In fact it seemed to be crashing.
In a few seconds she didn´t need the scope, the ships were headed in her general direction. Just as the shuttle took a mortal hit in one of the propulsors a small object detached itself from it´s underside and dropped in the opposite direction. The two ships droned over the wreck. A few seconds later there was the unmistakeable sound of a crash.
And there Keena stood. To the north a Sith scout ship and a crashed victim of theirs. To the south a one-man escape pod. And to the west the traps she´d set up yesterday to capture rodents for food.
She fought with herself. She had wanted solitude, to forget and be forgotten! And now the Force was bringing the galaxy´s problems right back into her lap. Well, no she hadn´t wanted it, but that had been her decision and it had brought her the closest thing to peace she was likely to find. And yet there was a tiny part of her that wanted a chance to get off this spitball of a planet, to get back in touch with the universe at large. To settle some scores.
And there was the pull of the Force, that small but insistent voice at the back of her head that told her she had to do this. That it was important she joined this whatever-it-was-this-time.
Keena reached out with her mind to the south and felt pain, fear, concern for another one. And determination. A youthful spark of energy and zeal that reminded the former padawan bitterly of her old self. But currently overshadowed by fear.
She groaned angrily and hung her head like one who has lost an argument.
´´Fine!´´
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With the less-than-generous temperatures of J-3109 Keen always slept in her clothes, including gloves and temperature-cloak, and it didn´t take long to stuff all her neccessary belongings in a backpack. With a knife in her belt and the rifle already hanging off her shoulder by the strap she was ready to go.
The landing site of the escape pod was closer than the crash so she went off into a jog through the dense pine-forest which dominated this part of the planet. By her estimates the pod had landed in a large, nearby lake and the ice certainly wouldn´t have been thick enough to handle the impact. And yet she could still sense it´s inhabitant. They must have made it out.
Which might not make much off a difference, she thought when she heard the sound of a speeder bike in the distance, coming rapidly from the north. The Sith were coming to deal with the escapee.
Keena moved into a sprint, drawing speed from the Force. In less than a minute she found herself by an ancient tree much taller than the rest, one she frequently used for viewing the surrounding area. A single vertical leap landed her on one of the top branches.
In the distance she could see the lake, with a hole in the ice close to the shore. She also saw four Sith troopers on two speeder bikes cutting through the forest at the sanest speed possible. She didn´t have long.
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Even Keena´s Force enhanced legs couldn´t match the speeder bike. By the time she got to the lake the Sith had abandoned the bikes, with their footprints leading away into a section of forest too dense for the vehicles. It was clear someone had crawled out of the hole in the ice and made for the forest.
The footprints in the snow, along with the stream of fear coming from the pursued and the cold malice from the soldiers, made following easy.
Now that they had ditched the bike she could feel the gap close rapidly as she sprinted through the dense foliage, the Force guiding her past any obstacles.
As the chase led deeper in Keena recognised the area, and suspected she knew why the Sith seemed to have slowed down. This part of the forest was very old, with the trees standing very close together. The snow never touched the ground here, meaning the Sith couldn´t follow their quarry´s footprints anymore.
She decelerated down to a normal pace, treading carefully on the thick layer of old pine needles. She found herself glancing at the energy counter on the rifle, even though she knew well enough how many shots she had remaining.
Little light made it through the thick layer of branches, and the deeper the chase lead the less visibility there was. Not that there was much to see in the dense forest, but it did make the mine almost invisible. If the Force hadn´t whispered a warning Keena never would have noticed it. But there it was; a standard Republic issue anti-personnel frag mine. The Sith had probably missed it through sheer coincidence.
Or maybe the Force has plans for them. Despite everything Keena found herself smiling bitterly for a moment. Her old master had often talked about how certain events were destined to take place, and how amazing coincidences often seemed to round up the people, places and objects neccessary. Like props in a play.
Keena hesitated a moment before placing her hand just above it. She focused her concentration on the Force, moved the right parts and deactivated it before stuffing it in her backpack. It might come in handy.
About fifty feet deeper into the gloom she could actually hear the Sith´s footsteps on the soft needle-carpet. Their frustration shone through the Force like a beacon, as did the fear of their prey. Given the circumstances, though, Keena had to admit that fear was being handled rather well: The Sith had no idea how close they were.
And they never would.
They had spread out into a line with about thirty feet between them and were methodically advancing through the small clearing they were in, carefully scanning the environment.
Keena took cover behind a thick tree with the leftmost one forty feet in front of her. She could feel their minds; their frustration mingled with excitement and anticipation. Heartless, dyed in the wool professional killers. She saw no reason whatsoever to go easy on them.
The closest one took a bolt right in the back of the neck, his armor no match for the high-powered rifle at such a short range. Their training was better than their armors, however, and the remaining three spun around before their comrade hit the ground. The general area out of which the bolt had come was sprayed with hot death, but Keena had already lept fifteen feet in the air and landed on a sturdy branch. The next bolt went through a faceplate, a face, and the back of a head.
She jumped ahead and spun gracefully in the air on her way down with bolts whissing just above her and landed in a crouch with the rifle aimed. A stomach shot.
The last one got off a well aimed shot at her chest, but letting the Force guide her body she spun to the side like a dancer, the bolt missing by an inch.
She fired her last round, but a slight misstep placed the shot in the trooper´s shoulder. He screamed and staggered backwards, but managed to raise his blaster rifle with one hand. Keena had time to curse her misstep just before . . .
. . . the trooper blew up.
One moment he was there, the next bits of flesh and shredded armor were raining down in the clearing.
Keena stared for a moment before realising he had stepped on another mine. To an audience her shot would no doubt had looked cleverly planned.
And that was that. The first four people she had met in a year lying, and in one case splattered, dead at her feet.
The first time she had been forced to kill in the war she had felt . . . something. She couldn´t seem to remember emotions from before the . . . events, well anymore. But it had been powerful.
Now she felt nothing but a vague disdain.
Ah, but she had come here for a purpose, hadn´t she?
It wasn´t difficult to pinpoint the shining ball of youthful spark through the Force. Now the feedback had been switched from fear to guarded relief, surprise, and concern.
´´You can come out now.´´ The sentence was barely audible. Keena had gotten accustomed to only using her voice to murmur occasional thoughts out loud.
´´You can come out now!´´ she said in a half-yell. ´´Out from behind that big bush with the yellow berries on it.´´
The figured emerged, slowly, with the stiff movements characteristic of those on the edge of hypothermia.
Despite the gloom Keena recognised her immediately. She remembered everything that damn holoscreen had burned into her corneas a year ago, while everyone around her had been cheering. Everything and everyone. She had matured over the course of the year and her skin was a much paler hue due to the dip in the sub-zero lake but it was still her.
Mission Vao.
´´Wow, that was some shooting.´´ the Twi´lek managed to squeese past her numb lips. ´´Looks like I owe you one.´´
Keena had found the most worthless planet capable of supporting life she could think of and yet here was a glaring reminder of why she´d come here in the first place. She felt mocked.
´´Um . . . hello? You´re kinda spacing out there lady.´´
Keena realised she´d been silent for a while. And her face had probably registered some odd emotions.
´´Ah . . . hi.´´ Not a greeting to go down in the history books, but at least she´d kept her voice normal. More normal than she´d felt anyway.
´´My name´s . . . Anna. And you´re Mission Vao.´´ She took off her temperature cloak and wrapped it around the girl and started rubbing life back into her body.
´´Thanks. Heh, I´m still not used to the whole Saviours-Of-The-Republic celebrity stuff.´´
Oh yeah. That was the title they were all given. Her especially. Keena pretended to look at the fallen Sith to keep the girl from seeing the sour look on her face.
´´Look, I appreaciate the help an´all, but we gotta save my friend! He was piloting the shuttle when they attacked.´´
Keena felt like an idiot. All this effort to gain solitude and the moment someone else´s problems had come within reach she´d rushed off to get involved. And now how was she to put the genie back in the bottle?
´´Look, please! He´s my best friend. I couldn´t stand it if something happened to him!´´ When Keena´s face didn´t budge the Twi´lek seemed to wrestle with herself. The fear had been replaced by concern, however, and the struggle was short.
´´Besides, we´re . . . kinda on a mission for the Republic. And you´ll want to get off this rock right?´´
Do I? Do I really? But it didn´t seem to matter what she wanted: The universe had plans and expected her to fall in line like before.
´´Right, right.´´ Might as well play along for now.
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Mission insisted on going with her to the crash site. Keena tried to subtly channel some of the healing power of the Force into her to speed up her recovery, but her grasp of the Force´s gentler aspects had seen better days, and the effect was only marginal. Instead she let the Force flow into her muscles and picked the girl up and carried her back to the speeder bikes, hoping she wasn´t making it look too easy.
Keena had put on the uniform of the trooper she´d shot in the back of the neck and taken his rifle. As long as she didn´t turn her back on the remaining Sith the disguise should hold long enough.
´´So is everything clear?´´
´´Yup. Let´s just get going. They´ll probably want him alive, but I don´t wanna take any chances.´´
´´Got the feeling in your fingers back?´´
The Twi´lek answered by pulling out her blaster and twirling it like a old holovid pistol fighter.
´´That´s some weapon you´ve got there.´´ Keena remarked, studying the large, heavily modified blaster pistol.
´´Isn´t it? Used to belong to this big-time duellist on Taris. I´ll tell you about it later.´´
It was easy to follow the trail in the snow left by the bikes. It led them in the direction of a large clearing, around the area Keena had originally assumed the shuttle had crashed. She stopped the bike by a hill on the edge of the clearing. Beyond it she sensed five minds very much like those she had snuffed out earlier, and one seething with rage and pain.
´´Right. This is it, kid. Do or die time. Are you up for a close quarter, open area firefight?´´ Because I don´t need you getting in my way if you´re not.
´´Look lady; I was on the Star Forge. And I grew up on an alien hating pit. So, yeah, I´m up for it. Especially with a friend on the line.´´
Keena had to hand it to the girl: She really meant what she was saying. She could sense fear in her, of course, but it was dwarfed by a rock hard determination and concern for her friend.
I wonder what she´ll be like around my age.
There was nothing more to say. Mission wrapped the oversized cloak around her, and hid the blaster under it, pretending to be clutching at a wound and staggered over the hill with Keena marching behind with the rifle at her back.
The crash had been at the very center of the clearing, and the Sith had landed about halfway between it and the hill, probably out of fear of the shuttle exploding. The five Sith had gathered around a huge, hairy figure Keena recognized as a Wookie. Most likely the Wookie. The one standing alongside Revan at the ceremony.
One of the Sith, one wearing officer colors, was holding a huge vibroblade of a design Keena didn´t recognise in one hand and a bowcaster in the other. They had been working the Wookie over with shock sticks and their armored boots, either as an interrogation or simply for fun, and he had multiple minor wounds and burns. He lay perfectly still, but Keena could sense his mind was still active, although weary and disorganized by pain and anger. He was most likely playing possum, hoping his captors would relax and make a mistake.
She rather unkindly nudged Mission onwards with the rifle barrel as the Sith looked up and started walking faster. They might get suspicious at any moment.
200 feet. ´´Where´s the rest?´´ asked a trooper.
Keena didn´t answer, but jabbed a thumb behind her, hoping the gesture would buy a little time.
150 feet. ´´Well? Report soldier.´´ ordered the officer.
´´By the way,´´ mumbled the girl under her breath, ´´I´m not a kid.´´
100 feet. ´´I want your report private!´´
´´Get ready´´ whispered Keena and she felt the already tense Twi´lek tense a little more. She just hoped she wouldn´t go off prematurely. They´d agreed Keena would fire the first shot.
50 feet. ´´Samson! Answer me damn it!´´
Keena risked a few more steps and, feeling the growing suspicion radiating from the Sith, raised the rifle and fired.
The energy bolt hit the officer square in the faceplate, and he fell without a sound.
Mission whipped out her monster pistol and fired at the one Sith with a raised rifle. His chest exploded.
One dropped a shock stick and went for a blaster pistol on his hip before the stick hit the ground.
Keena gunned him down before his hand closed around it and let her knees buckle and dove ahead just as a bolt whipped over her head.
The Wookie had come to life the moment none of the Sith were focusing on him and snatched up the vibroblade. It went out into a wide, powerful swing. A Sith dropped with both his legs severed at the knee.
Mission fired again and hit the remaining Sith in the head. The force of the hit not only turned his head into a pulpy mass, but also made his shoulders hit the ground before his feet did.
The amputee was stopped in mid-scream by a vibroblade severing his head in half.
Keena got up. ´´That´s that´´. The whole thing had taken moments.
´´Big Z!´´ shouted Mission and took a running leap into the Wookie´s arms.
They squeezed each other for a few moments. When he put her down she had a sudden change in additude and punched him in the arm.
´´Now that´s the last time you ever give me a scare like that again! You ever make me fear for you again and I´ll give you a pink coloring while you sleep!´´
The Wookie replied with semi-outrage and growled a mixture of apology, anger, and relief at seeing her alive and well.
Finally the towering creature seemed to notice Keena, who had been busy stripping of the hated armor, and growled a question.
´´Oh, that´s Anna. She´s been stranded here for a while and dealt with those other morons they sent after me. So much for Sith efficiency. Again.´´
´´And Anna: This is my best friend in the whole galaxy: Zaalbar.´´
´´Yeah, I realized that.´´
Zaalbar growled out a sentence, which Mission promptly translated.
´´He says he owes you one for saving my blue butt and his hairy hide. Okay, Z, relax. Nothing wrong with a little poetic licence. Shesh! Well, anyway, he says he´s in your debt, well, I guess we both are, and if there´s anything he can do to repay it you just let him know.´´
Keena had actually understood the majority of what he´d said. Revan had been an avid study of languages, the more exotic the better, and had given her informal lessons in some of them. But there was no need for them to know that.
´´Just glad to help. Looks like your ship is in a bit of a mess though.´´ Which was an obvious understatement. The shuttle´s brightest possible future involved getting stripped for spare parts.
´´Yeah. We´ll have to take the Sith ship to get back.´´
´´Aha. Good luck with that.´´ She took the cloak back from Mission and turned to leave. The whole thing had been mildly interesting and she´d gotten a fresh supply of energy cells for her rifle. Now it was back to solitude and lonelieness.
´´What?! Wait, you´re not coming with us?´´
Keena hesitated in mid-stride. Could saving these two and getting them back to whatever they were doing have been all she had been meant to do? Was she just a link in a chain of events? Would she get off this easily?
Not bloody likely. But then I´m not a pawn, damn it! I´m an individual and individuals have choices.
´´Y´know, we could really use someone with your capabilities.´´
You don´t know the half of it.
Keena sighed. ´´Why?´´ she said tiredly. ´´What´s going on this time?´´
The Twi´lek girl seemed really focused on being helpful and getting her off J-3109, and went into sales-pitch mode.
´´Well, there´s this new Sith Lord around, well more than one actually. After Malak bit the dust there was a lot of chaos and disorganization among the Sith but they seem to be getting their act together. It´s only a matter of time before one of them rises to the top. Anyway, this one is really nasty and the Jedi geezers back on Coruscant think he´s up to something mega-darkside while his fleet keeps us busy.´´
´´There´s always another Sith Lord.´´ Keena mumbled. She felt tired. She felt worn out. There would be plenty more Sith lords for a long time to come now that Revan had rebuilt the Sith.
Wonder what the odds are of it being a Jedi she brought with her to the war? Another one she corrupted. Someone I know.
´´What´s his name?´´ she asked, bracing herself for an unpleasant answer.
´´Darth Eskon.´´
