Okay I know that exposition can be boring but sometimes it is nessessary before you can get to the action part of the story. I thank everyone who has read and reviewed and been patient in the slow build up of this first half of this three part story. Enjoy this next chapter (no it's not the last one) hopefully it was worth some of the wait.
To quote that Corellian schoundrel. . . "Here's where the fun begins."
Chapter Eight
Rogue's Gambit
Terell glanced at Lana when her fingers stumbled over the next few chords. He covered her sudden fumble and took up the cue that she missed for the next lyrics.
Lana recovered herself enough to take up the harmony. Only the band members knew about the change in singers as Terell finished the song.
The audience applauded and cheered when the band started right into their next tune. Playing up their part Keirdan, Terell, Bailen and Freya continued their performance with their normal flare. Lana on the other hand did not, she messed up the next cord to gain Terell's attention. He glanced at her while in mid verse and was only mildly worried until she trained a desperate look at him.
He caught the dread in her eyes. They darted from him to the hovering holographic emitter and back again and he understood her silent cue to leave. His automatic reaction to this set off a chain of events that threw Stilmon's tavern into total chaos. Terell cued the others that they were leaving with a sharp rift on his instrument and a short added third verse to the song they were performing.
With a mere thought, he accessed the Force and then looked at the sphere hovering just in front of the stage and switched on the sequence for it's hologram. Under the cover of effects smoke and strobe lighting, provided by the holographic emitter, the five band members slipped off the stage. No one noticed the switch to the band's holographic replacements. Rogue's Gambit's own singing voices trailed behind them with a new song as the band headed straight to the hidden room and disappeared behind the false wall.
Lana hurried to pick up her pack and swung it on her back, then turned and scooped up her hooded Guardian on the bed. Creature squawked unhappily trying to shake off his hood, but Lana did not remove it as she turned to her team.
"Only take what you can carry on your back, leave the rest behind, it's not important."
"Not important?" Freya echoed, surprised at her friend's fearful command.
Lana met her hard gaze, "You heard me, instruments can be replaced, but you can't."
"Who did you see out there?" Freya questioned immediately.
Terell picked up Freya's pack and tossed it off to her, while backing up Lana's command, "You all heard her, we leave in five minutes."
Freya followed the Masters brothers into the other room to gather what she could.
Keirdan was the first to be ready outside of Lana and Terell. He turned to his brother with a casual comment. "Well this should make Stilmon happy at least he gets to keep his ship."
"Yeah and Maybs will get off his back," Bailen agreed.
He waited until Keirdan left the room and then pulled Freya aside with an urgent warning. "You let me take point down in the tunnels, okay?"
"We're not taking the tunnels Bailen," she told him. Then with a reassuring kiss she explained, "Our ride is here."
Bailen breathed a little easier after he heard this. There was no point in worrying her if they weren't taking the tunnels. He placed the small munitions remote he was going to give her back in his pocket.
Luke had felt the call on the Force and knew exactly who had used it, though the why was, as yet, unknown to him. He applauded along with the tavern patrons when the song ended and a new one started up. He enjoyed listening to the band on stage, without a clue that what he and everyone else was hearing and seeing now was a very convincing holographic display.
Elsewhere on the tavern floor, someone else also felt the pull on the Force. Something inside Gavin snapped awake. A long dormant command sprang to life in his mind and he jumped up, pulling out a small hidden blaster from his boot.
Quint looked on stunned when his second suddenly appeared to have turned into someone that he didn't know. He reacted, trying to pull the weapon away from his man as Gavin pointed at the lead male singing on stage. Quint pulled Gavin's aim off Terell, still the once Mandalorian Hunter got off two shots that ricocheted off the back wall. One of the rebounding blaster fire came back out through the chest of Lana's hologram and still she sang on.
Luke straightened instantly, looking around the crowed tavern floor for the real band members when he realized that they weren't actually on the stage.
Panic had quickly ensued after the first blaster shot. The tavern patrons screamed and tried to scramble out of Gavin's way when he gave an enraged cry, tossed Quint aside and reamed on what he thought was Terell. Shots rang out once again and more terrified screams of panic erupted. In the confusion Luke was pulled behind the bar by Stilmon.
"Keep your head down son!" he barked.
"That's a hologram of them on stage," Luke explained.
"Resourceful little devils, I didn't know they had that," Stilmon admitted, breathing fast. He smiled impressed and mildly disappointed. "They could have at least told me about it."
"Where are they?"
"Backstage most likely. They're a little jumpy, something must have spooked them," Stilmon guessed.
"They obviously felt that someone might give them away."
Stilmon shot an angry look at Luke and gruffly declared, "No one in my place knew who they were outside of me and my wife."
He peered over the bar's edge to search for his wife when he heard her scream out his name.
Patrons were running everywhere, some even jumped behind the bar for cover. Smoke made it difficult to locate anyone outside of who was directly in front of the bar. The blaster shots had started a fire and sprinklers were spraying water down on the fleeing crowd, causing some to slip and fall. More screams, people were being trampled in the panic.
In the blink of an eye this simple pick up had gotten way out of hand.
Luke pulled out his saber as the Constable jumped behind the bar next to him. Quint backed abruptly away from the Jedi when he ignited his saber and stood. The sprinklers had ceased their spraying, clearing some of the smoke. Luke pulled Stilmon back and swung his green blade down in time to deflect an on coming blaster shot.
"Keep your head down!" he warned, then he jumped and landed with a small splash on the other side of the bar, to go deal with the apparent mad man.
"Stilmon, where are you! " Maybs frantically shouted from somewhere amid the chaos.
The tavern owner turned to his silver protocol droid with a sharp command. "Philks, find Maybs and protect!"
The old droid went stiff while parts of his metal body transformed. His yellow photoreceptors turned bright red. One arm retracted and was replaced with a built-in blaster. The sides of both the droid's thighs expanded to reveal still more weapons.
"I'm definitely reporting this to the Magistrate, Quint!" Stilmon shouted over the noise. He grabbed a weapon from under the bar and followed after his droid, using him as cover while he looked for his wife.
Luke was fully occupied with Gavin who was now on the stage firing point blank at the holographic Terell. The officer didn't seem to notice or care that the man he was shooting at wasn't real, he just kept firing, with a manic expression ablaze in his eyes. His shots ricocheted off in every direction hitting some patrons as they tried to flee. A rebounding shot finally hit the holographic emitter, which ended it's program as it fell to the tavern floor. Luke tried to protect as many patrons as he could and then finally reached his hand out towards Gavin and pulled the weapon from the mad man with the Force.
Freya fell to her knees in the hidden room, after a strong wave of dizziness hit her. Bailen helped her up with concern but she shrugged off the dizzy spell and went out to join the others while he gathered the rest of his things.
Gavin spun around glaring at Luke. He pulled out another weapon and pointed it at the Jedi, who tore that one from his hand as well. With a growl of frustration he went after Luke with his bare hands shouting a curse.
"Go to hell, you damn Jedi! "
Luke moved back and easily dodged out of the way of the deranged man.
Gavin picked up a chair to try and hit him with it. With a swift swing of the lightsaber, the chair was cleaved in two. Gavin dropped one half and continued after Luke with the other half.
A single look in his mad eyes told the Jedi that there would be no stopping this man. Gavin had simply snapped and now Luke was his new target. He raised his hand and lifted the mad man into the air. The officer dropped his would be weapon and struggled in vain to free himself.
"Set me down you bastard! "
Few people, most injured to some degree, were still inside the tavern. They were the only ones to witness the Jedi's display of the Force. Still they weren't the only ones to know he was there. Luke's mystical presences was felt by others with far worse intentions for him than killing him. His use of the Force set the Emperor's hand picked Mandelorian Hunters into action. And woke others, like Gavin, within the city up from their dormant state.
Solaren abruptly sat up in his ship. He swiftly pinpointed the location of the spike in the Force on his holographic display of the city and called to his lead men over his comm.
"Keller, Oji, Kaimon, I have a blip on our target. I need a visual at Taver's Tavern for conformation."
"I was just in there not that long ago and I didn't see anything."
Solaren glared at the ship's comm. "Oji, you idiot, Skywalker must have walked right by you and you missed him. Wake up boy and use your senses. This Jedi is strong," He took in a deep breath as though sensing the power of Luke's unique Force signature, "Go back to the tavern. I'll meet you there. Kaimon, there's a tunnel system under the tavern, you take that way with your men incase our Jedi decides to us it and Keller you and your men take the alleyways. We'll meet in the middle and box Skywalker in, Solaren out."
The thrill of the hunt was on at last, no more false leads to tempt him and his men. No more misleading disruptions in the Force to confuse them, no more ransacking unsuspecting hotels, for the wrong prey. They had not found the rebel's that the Emperor had said would be here. Still fortune had smiled down on Solaren and granted him the Jedi's arrival on Zirus Five at last.
The chase was on.
"Who are you and who sent you?" Luke questioned Gavin.
Stilmon was helping his wife up from the floor when she gasped and pointed at Luke.
"He's a Jedi! " she shouted.
In fresh panic she pulled desperately on her husband's arm. "We have to get out of here now, Stilmon!"
Quint finally emerged from behind the bar. He reacted defensively when he saw his second being held in the air and pulled out his own hidden weapon, pointing it at Luke with a warning.
"Set him down, Owen or we're going to have a problem."
The distinct sound of a hammer being cocked behind his ear made Quint freeze.
"I don't allow weapons in my place Constable," growled Stilmon darkly. "You've already done enough damage here. Now drop it and help get the injured outside!"
Quint didn't argue, but did as he was told, while Luke interrogated Gavin.
Maybs helped the constable move the injured outside and then rushed back in to her husband to urgently try and pull him out.
"We have to leave Stilmon, now! "
"You'll get nothing from me Jedi except a swift death! " Gavin snarled fervently.
The tavern owner pointed his blaster at him and ended his life.
Gavin's lifeless body fell to the floor as Luke turned to Stilmon in surprise. "You didn't have to do that!"
Stilmon gave no explanation as Maybs tugged on his arm.
"You don't have time, you have to get them out of here now." He waved Luke to follow him, "This way."
Philks trailed after his human master.
Freya was sent through the trap door first. She was feeling too distracted by the dizzying illness that had struck her again to ask questions. Not wanting to let her friends down she tried to ignore the feeling.
"Keirdan, hurry up with that wall! I don't want anyone following us!" Lana barked over her shoulder as she disappeared down the trap door next.
"I'm almost done!"
Sparks flew out of the opened control panel on the wall as it was shorted out. "That's it, no one's coming through this way," Keirdan announced.
"Where is everybody?" Bailen asked when he came out of the other room.
"No time to explain little bro," Keirdan jumped up, grabbed his own pack and then shoved Bailen through the trap door. "Down you go."
Bailen descended the ladder rapidly, sliding down instead of climbing, calling for Freya. He landed on the ground with a desperate, "Where is she?"
"She can see better than any of us in the dark, so I sent her on ahead," said Lana, holding on tight to her struggling Guardian.
In the dark no one saw Bailen's face go pale. "She wasn't feeling well," he said and then took off like a shot into the darkened tunnel, heading as fast as his feet could carry him towards his new lover.
"Bailen wait for Keirdan!" Lana's shout echoed after him. But it was no use, the darkness had swallowed up the young man. Creature struggled even harder to get free, to follow after him. "Knock it off Creach! I'll take your hood off once we're out of these tunnels."
Keirdan landed next to Terell and then looked round for the missing members. "Bailen and Freya taking point?"
"Just for now," said Terell. He looked skeptically down the darkened tunnel. "You do remember the way I hope."
Keirdan confidently took the lead. "This way."
They could hear Bailen's voice faintly echoing through the dark while he called after Freya. The urgency in his voice gave the others reason for concern and they picked up their pace to catch up.
Bailen retraced his steps to the first door. He fumbled through his pocket for the small remote and then breathed easier when he didn't find Freya. The explosives he had placed at the base of the door sat exactly as he had set them, at the ready. Freya must have missed the door. He hit the remote and stepped back several feet to wait for the safety sequence to complete itself.
His pounding heart relaxed some as he tried to catch his breath. Then he saw a petite body emerge from the small opening in the door. Freya had gone the right way after all and was coming back to make sure that no one got lost. She slipped through the narrow opening and then turned to open the door all the way for the others.
Bailen's heart sank into his feet, the safety sequence was not finished. He reacted instantly, shouting at Freya not to open the door.
She felt his overwhelming fear and looked up, perplexed, as he rushed forward and shoved her away from the door.
The explosion that rocked the tunnel knocked the rest of Rogue's Gambit off their feet. It was felt and heard by those above ground as well.
A thick cloud of dust and debris rushed through the tunnel. Terell and Keirdan both reacted at the same time. They jumped to their feet, kicked open a nearby unassuming door, then grabbed Lana by her pack and threw her through it. They then dove in after her. Lana lost Creature when she hit the ground. She went to get up but Keirdan pushed her back down and protectively covered her body with his own.
He was struck in the back by the door after it was blown off its hinges by the reverberating shock wave.
Luke steadied Stilmon as they stood outside the hidden room after the ground shook. He exchanged a very worried look with the tavern owner, who instantly gave up on trying to open the wall.
The Jedi followed him without question.
"Stilmon, where are you going!" Maybs demanded. "You've done all you can for those people, now let's get out of here before the Hunters come."
Stilmon grabbed his wife and pulled her into another hidden passage that he hadn't told her or the other's about. Luke followed and then stopped when the tavern owner did. Stilmon pointed at a door while he turned to his wife. "Maybs, go to the ship and wait there for me. Philks will protect you."
Maybs shook her head. "I'm not leaving you behind."
"You can't come with us, now go to the ship."
"No! " she strongly protested. "You don't understand, they're coming for them." She pointed at Luke, "and him too!"
Comprehension flashed in the old man's eyes. Without meaning to, he shook his wife as he guessed, "You told Quint about them."
"It was Gavin -- after I heard what happened over at the Binary -- We've worked so hard for what we've got, I didn't want to risk losing it or you, so I told him. But I didn't know he was one of them, I swear."
"Do you know what you've done Maybs! How could you be so selfish!" he shouted angrily, "I gave my word to Ehker to keep them safe!"
"I was scared," she sobbed. "I'm sorry."
He shook his head, "It's too late for that now!"
He turned from her in total disappointment, trying to think on how to right his wife's mistake.
Luke did not get involved, but his shared disappointment showed in his eyes.
Maybs' sobs increased.
Stilmon finally made a decision. "We can't stay here anymore," he said to himself.
He took a spray out of his pocket and turned back to his wife and hit her in the face with a full blast. He caught her as she succumbed to the knock out gas and then turned to his droid, "Philks -- command override alpha."
The silver protocol unit snapped to attention and transformed back to his original state. Stilmon then handed his unconscious wife off to the droid. "Take her to the Maybel and wait for me there. Protect her at all costs."
"As you wish Master," the droid said and then carried Maybs out the door.
"This way, Owen," said Stilmon. He hit a hidden remote in his pocket that started a countdown in his tavern. "We only have a few minutes, before the tavern blows."
With fresh determination he lead the way into the neighboring building.
"It's Luke," the Jedi corrected.
Stilmon opened a secondary passageway and glanced at him. "I didn't think you looked like an Owen."
Not too long after that, the tavern went up in smoke and fire.
Han stopped his pacing in the hanger and listened carefully. He heard the explosion seconds before he felt it shake the ground.
Princess Leia met his worried gaze and shook her head, but it was too late. She had seen it in his eyes, seconds before he pulled out his blaster -- he was going out to help Luke.
"Chewie, be ready!" Was all he shouted over his shoulder, before he rushed up the stairs to the main boulevard.
The Wookiee barked from the cockpit after him, but it was in vain, Solo didn't hear his warning.
"Han wait! " Leia went running after him. "Luke said not to leave the hanger!"
"I don't care what junior said, we're not leaving him behind!" Han exclaimed as she caught up to him.
Terell coughed and lifted his hands off his dust covered head. He glanced around but couldn't see anything in the dark. He reached out for his friends in the darkness and found Creature's still body.
"Lana? Keirdan? Talk to me! " he called, picking up the animal's limp form.
"I'm alright," answered Lana faintly. "But Keirdan's been knocked out and I lost Creature."
"I've got him, I think he's okay," Terell told her, though he wasn't sure.
Lana tried to move Keirdan's still body off her but couldn't. "There's something heavy on top of us, I-- I can't move it."
"Hold tight," Terell said, setting Creature down. He pulled his pack off to search blindly through it for a light. He found one and illuminated the side room they were all in. Then he hastened to help his friends and pulled the heavy door off the pair. Lana slipped out from under Keirdan and hugged Terell.
For the most part, she was relatively unharmed by the explosion. She, like Terell, suffered only a few minor cuts and bruises.
Everyone's ears were ringing though. Lana went over and scooped Creature up in her arms, unsure if he was alive or dead. Her brief panic subsided when she realized that he was still breathing. Her decision to keep him hooded, not only protected his eyes, but also saved his life.
"What happened?" Keirdan groggily asked as he came back around. His senses were shocked back into sharp focus when he saw the debris on the floor. He looked at Lana with deep concern, when she kneeled next to him. "Are you hurt?"
"Just shaken," she assured him.
Keirdan then jumped up and went back into the tunnel to call out to his brother. He got no answer and walked forward, then stepped on something made of plastic. He bent down and picked up the partially melted remains of a remote casing.
Dread filled Keirdan when he recognized his brother's munitions remote.
He took the light from Terell when he and Lana joined him. The damage to the tunnel was dimly revealed by the light. In a flash of recognition everybody knew a horrible truth, Bailen had set up a precautionary munitions and someone set them off. Keirdan's blood ran cold. He tore down the tunnel shouting out his brother's name. His panic only increased when he got no answer.
Terell and Lana went running after him, equally scared of the possibility of what they might find at the end.
Their fears were realized when they saw Keirdan fall to his knees crying out in agony. Terell and Lana rushed up next to him and saw only Bailen's arm hanging out from under some rocks. Lana handed Creature off to Terell and immediately started pulling the rocks away from the teenager's broken body as she begged him to answer her.
Keirdan helped, though he knew it was useless. . . his brother was dead.
Terell laid Creature down next to the wall a short distance away and returned to help his friends. It took the three of them to lift the final rock from Bailen's body. The full reality of his grizzly injury was revealed and took them all off guard. Lana gasped in horror and covered her mouth as Terell jumped back in surprise. Keirdan's mournful cry echoed off the walls.
The peaceful expression on Bailen's lifeless face showed that he didn't suffer. His death was instant.
Keirdan took his jacket off and covered his brother's gaping chest injury. Tears freely spilled out of his eyes as he pulled Bailen out of the tunnel wreckage. Keirdan closed his brother's lifeless eyes, then kissed his forehead and rocked his body as if he was only sleeping.
"It's happening, Terell." Lana backed into him, her body shaking uncontrollably, as shocked terror gripped her. "My dream, it's coming true. We have to get out of here before he finds us."
Terell looked around for Freya, calling to her, when he didn't see her. He turned to Lana with a sharp question, that jarred her from her shocked state. "Is she still alive!"
Lana called out mentally to her friend and got a faint response back. She pulled away from Terell and he followed her to a spot where she started pulling rocks aside.
"She's under here Terell, quick!"
The two cleared the debris off their friend and pulled her out from under two huge pieces of tunnel which had miraculously landed over her like a tent, protectively keeping her from serious harm. Freya was stunned, blood was trickling from her ears. In the tunnel dimness it went unnoticed.
Terell carried her back to where Keirdan was. She dazedly glanced around at the ruins and then fell unconscious again. Lana leaned down next to Keirdan and touched his shoulder.
"We have to leave," she told him with regrettable urgency.
"I promised Mom I'd bring him home," he choked back softly.
This tore into Lana's heart and tightened her throat. She swallowed her heartache and vowed, "We'll take him home."
He nodded and stood with his brother then looked up at the tunnel ceiling when another blast rocked the ground. Dust and ceiling started caving in on them. Keirdan instantly dropped Bailen's legs down and shoved Lana as hard as he could back towards Terell, who grabbed her arm and pulled her away to the wall.
The Alderaanian leaned against her and Freya. He covered their heads and waited until the cave-in stopped, before he let Lana go again.
Coughing, they shouted to Keirdan as the dirt settled.
Terell set Freya down, next to Creature and removed his pack to pull out another light. He and Lana then began clearing rocks and debris away from Keirdan, who had answered their shouts. As with Freya, a large piece of tunnel had fallen in just such a way to protect Keirdan's head from injury.
The rest of him, however, wasn't quite as fortunate.
They found Bailen's body laying over his brothers.
Keirdan smiled faintly at them, then coughed and blood came out of his mouth. "Looks like I'm not going to make this run after all."
Neither Lana nor Terell smiled at his dry sense of humor. He moaned and shook his head when they tried to pull him out.
"My Leg -- it's stuck."
Lana looked at Terell, with a desperate, "Can you lift it?"
"I'll try." He stepped back and concentrated on the Force to move the heavy rock. It shook and then rose only a little. Lana grabbed Keirdan under his arms and pulled. He refused to let go of his brother. Lana pulled and tugged until she got the two brothers clear just in time. Terell could not hold onto the Force and the heavy rock he raised settled down with a crushing sound.
Winded, Terell staggered up to Keirdan and Lana.
"You okay?" he questioned.
Keirdan thanked him in a ragged breath and then told him, "My body's broken."
Terell understood the finality in his friend's pained voice and took his offered hand in farewell.
"We're not leaving anyone behind," Lana protested.
Keirdan coughed up more blood and reminded her, "We've played this game before Lana. You know better than any of us, that it's cut your losses and run time."
There was a split second where she wanted to argue the point, but Lana knew he was right. It pained her to leave the two brothers, who were like her family, behind. Still she wiped the blood from Keirdan's mouth with her jacket sleeve and then kissed him in a strong goodbye. Next she bent down and kissed Bailen's forehead, then quickly stood. Without looking back she fetched Creature and left, a piece of her heart dying as she climbed to the top of the debris.
Keirdan met Terell's affected gaze. "Deliver the codes and take her back to Corellia."
Terell gripped his hand again in a strong hold and fervently promised, "I will."
"Go," Keirdan coughed, letting go of his best friend.
Terell went back to Freya. He hoisted her up, draping her over his shoulder and walked back to Keirdan, setting his backpack at the injured man's side. "There's a weapon inside if you need it."
Keirdan nodded, handed the light off to him and woefully watched his friends regretfully leave him and his fallen brother behind. He held Bailen close in the dark and grief ran down his face. "It's my turn to follow you little brother," he whispered into a lifeless ear. Keirdan winced in pain. He felt the drain on his body and tightened his embrace on Bailen, then kissed his still warm forehead. "I'll be with you soon."
Lana was scanning, through tear filled eyes, in every direction on the top of the debris. "I don't know which way to go," she said when Terell joined her.
"Well we can't go that way, that other blast surely took out our exit," said Terell.
Lana wiped her tears on her jacket sleeve, then took the light from him and pointed down the service tunnel. "We go this way then and hope for the best." She led the way down the other side of the debris.
Stilmon accessed the service tunnel from the far end of his neighbor's abandoned shop. Luke didn't bother using the ladder, but chose instead to drop down beside him. The Jedi reignited his saber for light and once again followed the older man.
They reached the cave-in, ten minutes after Terell and Lana had left. Luke noticed Keirdan first and rushed to his side to see if he was still alive. The Corellian's eyes were closed and his breathing was very shallow.
Keirdan coughed and sluggishly opened his weakened eyelids. Looking from the Jedi to Stilmon when they tried to remove his arms from his brother, he uttered a whispered, "I have to take him home."
Stilmon checked his neck for a pulse when he drifted away, then sadly shook his head when he didn't feel one.
"He's not dead," Luke said, feeling the soul still inhabiting Keirdan's body. "We might be able to help him if we can get him out of here."
"There's an access ladder over there," Stilmon said, pointing down the wall a ways. He grabbed Terell's pack and slung it over his shoulder as he went to the ladder and began to climb.
With little concentration on his part, Luke, easily used the Force to levitate the two brother's up after the tavern owner.
Faint footsteps echoed off the walls and grew louder in the darkness beyond Luke's lightsaber. Someone was hurriedly following after the two men.
Fearing the worst Stilmon called down to the Jedi.
"Hurry Luke, there's not much time. You have to get out of here!"
Stilmon went through the door in the floor and then turned and pulled Keirdan and Bailen aside. He poked his head back through the opening and shouted back to Luke, who released his hold on the Force after gently setting the brothers down on the floor above.
"You might as well come out this way too, from the looks of the cave-in, there's no telling which way the rest of them went."
Shouts now echoed off the walls. Whoever was coming was almost on the scene.
Luke extinguished his saber and, sensing a new danger, took a great leap upward. The converging men just missed him in the shadows. Some passed by the ladder while others stopped to climb after him. Still others shot at the Jedi as he disappeared through the door above.
Stilmon shut and locked the trapdoor. Luke reignited his saber and effectively melted the door seam together in a makeshift weld.
"Out of the way son," Stilmon called and then the two pulled a heavy shelf over onto its side, covering the small access door.
"That should slow them down," he sighed clapping Luke on the shoulder with a smile. "All the same try not to use the Force if you can."
"Who are those people?" Luke questioned curiously.
Stilmon bent over Keirdan and explained, "Hunters, they can't use the Force, but they can feel it--" He paused while prying Keirdan's arms back from Bailen. Keirdan's jacket fell away from his brother, revealing his fatal injuries.
"Oh, good Lord!" Stilmon exclaimed when he saw the gaping hole in the boy's chest. He replaced the jacket over Bailen's body at once, then wiped at the sudden tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Ehker," he whispered with a sniff, then he shook his head. "I can't leave Keirdan here if there's a chance for him."
The Jedi nodded his understanding, when Stilmon turned to him.
"Find them, before the Hunter's catch up to them. . . And Luke, you be careful. The Alliance can't afford to lose someone like you."
Feeling for the old man, Luke extinguished his saber and assured him, "I'll find them." Then he left the strangely empty building.
Terell set Freya gently on the floor of a store they accessed through a trapdoor and turned to help Lana. She hugged him and tears for her lost friends spilled from her eyes. Terell held her tight, feeling his own sad emotion.
The two went to Freya's side when she slowly started coming to.
She blinked her eyes open and called, not for Lana, but for Bailen. Freya looked at her Controller when Lana touched her shoulder. She saw the Corellian's tears and felt her deep pain and called out for Bailen again.
Lana shook her head and whispered, "He's gone."
Freya didn't respond to this. She rose on unsteady legs, looking around for her mate, then grabbed at her swimming head and slid back to the ground.
"Take it easy. You were caught in the blast," Terell explained, steadying her. "How are you feeling?"
Again no response.
Lana noticed the blood on Freya's neck and moved her hair aside. Blood trickled from her ear. Lana automatically checked the other ear, finding the same damage. She kept her expression calm as she met Freya's confused stare. "Can you hear me?"
Freya shook her head and spoke loudly, "What! "
Lana placed a finger to her lips and exchanged a grave look with Terell. "The blast took out her hearing."
Always the optimist, Terell suggested, "It might not last,"
Freya tried to clear her ears of the buzzing in them and then looked fearfully at Lana after she saw the blood on her hands. :I can't hear.: She mentally exclaimed.
:Are you in pain: Was Lana's calm inquiry.
Freya shook her head.
:Can you hear anything at all: Lana asked next.
:Only a little bit, but it's mostly just a loud buzzing.:
:It's probably temporary,: sent Lana, hoping that the damage wasn't in fact permanent. She then sadly relayed the news of what happened in the tunnels after Freya asked about Bailen again.
The empath pulled away from her friend, shaking her head, refusing to listen. "He's not dead!"
She looked at Terell for confirmation and did not want to believe it when he sadly nodded. She glared at him, tears streaming down her face. "You're lying!" she shouted.
He sorrowfully wiped at his eyes with a heartfelt, "I wish I was."
Freya faintly heard him and threw an angry question at Lana. "Why did you make us go through the tunnels?"
"I made a bad decision, I'm sorry," Lana regretfully admitted.
Freya broke down into fresh tears. If only she hadn't been so distracted by the use of the true Force, than perhaps she would have paid closer attention to her mate's warning and he would still be alive.
Lana comforted her, while wiping her own tears away.
"We can't stay here," Terell told Lana, while surveying their surroundings. He ducked back and reached into Lana's pack for her weapon when he saw shadows rush past the store front window.
No one was inside the store. Everyone had ventured out onto the boulevard to see what all the commotion was about as sirens blared up and down the street.
Creature finally came to. He shook his head briskly and squawked for Lana.
She parted from Freya and freed him of his hood and tethers. Lana kissed his small head, happy that he was okay, then stuffed his leather trappings in an interior jacket pocket.
"Can you stand, Freya?" Terell asked as loudly as he dared, while glancing back out at the store front.
Freya wiped her eyes and got to her feet. She was still a little dizzy, but she was now more determined to get her remaining friends to safety.
"Where are we going?"
"To the hanger bay. The Maybel will have to do to get us off this rock now," he answered.
"What happened to our pick up? Did he die?" she asked, completely confused.
Terell shook his head, "We don't have a pick up."
"Yes we do, I saw him, so did Lana. He was sitting at the bar." Freya insisted.
Terell's face dropped some and he looked at Lana, "You saw our pick up?"
"I saw our death," she said in a cryptic undertone.
"What?" Freya frowned, she didn't hear her Controller's reply. Thinking back to Stilmon's little alert she insisted, "Come on Lana you can't have missed him. Stilmon pointed him out, he was wearing a black uniform."
Hearing this and seeing the fearful look in Lana's eyes told Terell all he needed to know. The man from her dreams had walked into the tavern. Whether he was there as their ride out or not hadn't mattered to her. Terell understood this, she had panicked. Here, at last, was the underlining self doubt that had plagued Lana ever since she had taken their Captain's life. It had now been brought to the surface.
This was not good. If panic was motivating Lana's decisions now, Terell knew that he would have to take over. He took a hold of her arm.
"Relax," he told her firmly, "Do we find our ride, or do we head for the Maybel?"
"We have no idea where our ride is now," she answered in a steady voice.
"The Maybel then," Terell sighed, eying Lana carefully. She looked tense, but then who wouldn't be in the mess they found themselves in now.
Lana focused past his shoulder. "The crowds moving off, something must have happened."
The way was clear, something had distracted the people outside and they finally moved away from the door.
"It's time to go," Lana announced and Terell let go of her. She moved forward, "I'll take point."
Terell covered her with their only weapon.
She was followed by Creature as she moved up to the entrance. She took cover in the doorway and then took a breath before she quickly glanced out the window. With great relief Lana motioned for Freya and Terell.
They quickly joined her.
"I think we can make it unnoticed, if we're careful," Terell said, stowing his blaster inside his jacket, holding it under his arm.
Freya took Creature in her arms.
He did not fuss. The animal seemed to understand that he needed to remain still and even began purring.
Lana stopped Freya and pulled her hair over her ears covering the blood on her neck. "Clean it off once you're topside."
Freya nodded, her hearing was improving by the minute.
Terell put his arm around Lana and they casually strolled out of the store front, followed by Freya. None of them bothered to look over their shoulders at the distraction. So they missed it when Luke emerged several store fronts down from them.
The Jedi however did not miss them. He caught a glimpse of Terell's dusty head and ran after them. He had to fight his way through the gathering crowd and by the time he did he had lost sight of them again.
He cursed under his breath. Then moved out of the road as another fire transport crew came barreling down it, towards the smoking flames that had engulfed Stilmon's tavern.
Lana and Terell had taken the first turn into an alleyway.
"Which way to the hanger?" Lana asked Freya.
"I'm not sure." Freya glanced around. Nothing looked familiar to her. "I'm not even sure of our position in relation to Stilmon's place," she said with a shrug.
"Alright, let's not panic," said Lana running her hand through her hair in exasperation. "You think you can make it topside?"
Freya gave her a very unfavorable look. "Please." She then vaulted into the air and levitated above them. "Does this answer your question?"
Luke felt her use of power and almost lost his balance completely. He barely managed not to be sick and followed the strength of the rift in the Force. He had a sense that it would lead him to his quarry.
"Alright, stop showing off and just give us the low down," Lana said.
Freya landed on the roof of the building in front of her and informed them that Stilmon's place was now on fire and that they had to go past it to get to the hangers. She glanced over the front of the building and saw Luke heading in their direction and sent a relieved sending back to her Controller that their ride was on his way.
:Let Creature go and stay topside,: Lana sent back and then urgently grabbed Terell by the arm with a sharp command, "Run now! "
They sprinted down the alleyway, their pace matching. Lana then darted to the left between two buildings and Terell followed. They headed back to the main boulevard to lose themselves in the milling crowd.
Luke just missed them as he rounded the alley corner. He paused when he felt a smaller rift in the Force and then moved again, following the feeling, that is until a strong warning from the Force told him to stop and duck. He did and turned swiftly around. Several masked pursuers converged on the Jedi at once. All of them wore helmets that were similar to that of Boba Fett's, though with different markings.
The new arrivals surrounded the Jedi and shot not blasters, but nets over his head. For a brief moment it looked like he was caught. Luke had other ideas, however and reignited his saber. With a sweeping swing of his bright green blade, he cut himself free.
Freya saw this from above and watched him fight his relentless pursuers off. He dodged under grabbing arms and sent weapons flying out of gloved hands. His evasive maneuvering not only impressed Freya, but it proved to make his pursuers very angry with him.
Luke's saber finally connected with an armored outstretched arm and merely bounced off the metal. He knew then, that he was in some real danger. He stood his ground, waiting for the next masked man to make his move. When he did, Luke jumped out of the way and then called fully on the Force and knocked his would be captors off their feet with a wave of his hand.
Freya almost vomited. She understood in a flash that Luke was a fully trained Jedi knight and that he was the one making her feel sick. Whether he had meant to or not, she didn't care at the moment. He was their ride off this planet and the key to her remaining friends safety.
She saw five more of those strangely dressed men heading straight for Luke. He looked up at her when she shouted down a warning to him. It was too late, the new group of men had barred his exit. The first group had risen to their feet and joined the others in once again surrounding the Jedi.
Luke was in no mood for this, the longer he had to deal with these men the greater the chance of Rogue's Gambit's total demise.
"I could use some help!" he shouted up to the woman on the roof.
Freya watched him actually kill a couple of attackers before she joined the fray. Luke felt sick and faltered some when she used her powers to descend from the roof. He didn't have time to talk to her about this. He was too busy trying to focus on defending himself.
"You're Lana's friend?" he guessed as he kicked back an on coming attacker.
"Freya, nice to meet you," she answered, grabbing the arm of a man and breaking it in two places before she let go. The man fell to the ground in agony. "And you would be?"
"Luke Skywalker," he said, "I'm here to take you home."
They fought back to back, defending each other.
Meanwhile Terell and Lana had become separated in the crowd. Lana pushed her way through the milling people, picking up a blaster off an unsuspecting member of the crowd. She finally made it out and saw Terell on the other side and shouted at him. Creature flew to Lana when he heard her voice. She held her forearm up and he landed on it.
Terell shouted back at her, but she couldn't hear him. She turned, set Creature down and pulled off her pack. Grabbing a slip of paper she jotted down a short message and then rolled it up and handed it to her Guardian with instructions.
"Take this to Terell. Stay with him and keep him safe."
Creature trilled in response and took flight over the heads of the large crowd and delivered her message to Terell. She watched him read it before he nodded and then headed down the boulevard. Lana turned and made her way to another winding alleyway. it was easier than fighting against the crowd. The twist and turns of the allies confused Lana at first until she realized that she was going around in circles.
She stopped and relaxed her panicked heartbeat. Then called out to her friend. :Where are you Freya:
:With our ride,: she answered:Where are you:
A strong new panic gripped Lana.
:What's wrong? Are you hurt: Freya sent back after feeling, Lana's emotional flare.
:Get away from him: Lana warned:He's dangerous:
Freya glanced over her shoulder at Luke, in time to see his lightsaber cleave an angry attackers head from his body.
:You can say that again,: she sent back cheerfully.
Luke stumbled and actually got hit by one of the few remaining men. He regained his concentration and swiftly dispatched the man who had struck him.
The attackers began to back off and called for back up as their numbers dropped. "Solaren, we've got the Jedi surrounded but, we're going to need some help bringing him in."
Seizing an opportunity to escape, Freya turned to Luke.
"Time to go."
"Look out!" Luke warned, but it was too late; Freya was struck from behind with blaster fire, from the man calling for back up. Her body stiffened from the impact and Luke caught her as she fell into him. Freya's whole body glowed with an odd kind of aura that seemed to melt into her. The expression in her eyes was stunned.
"Damn! " Luke cursed, thinking she was dead.
To his very great surprise Freya blinked and then straightened in his grip.
"I really hate it when that happens," she said, annoyance alight in her eyes, "Now they've gone and made me mad."
She pulled out of the stunned Jedi's arm and turned. Luke stared at her back. There was a blaster burn mark in her top but nothing more. He understood, somehow she had absorbed the energy blast.
"You!" Freya pointed at the man who had fired at her. She turned her hand over and drew it back while a bright red energy ball emerged from her opened palm. Everyone around her took pause, even Luke, who was amazed and feeling sick at the same time as he watched.
The effect was just what Freya was expecting it to be. A dark curl came to the corner of her mouth. "I think I've got something here that belongs to you."
With an amazing leap forward Freya landed directly in front of her intended target. She grabbed his throat, lifting him up off the ground, "You can have it back, I don't need it," she said in a cool tone and released the raw energy into his body.
He screamed and fell to the ground, never to get up again.
"Keller! Keller what's going on! " Solaren's voice shouted over the dead man's comm.
The comm went to Freya's outstretched hand. She spoke pleasantly into it, while she faced the other attackers, "Your man is dead. If you'd like the same, than by all means keep following us."
"Unit two regroup and get the witch! " Solaren shouted over the comm to whoever was left of his second unit.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you're breaking up," Freya said as she crushed the metal comm in her delicate looking hand. A positively evil smile spread across her lips and she sighed, "That felt good."
The helmeted men snapped out of their stunned disbelief and focused all their attention and their weapons on her. They converged on her, closing the gap behind her. Freya calmly glanced around, she was completely surrounded. Her smile broadened.
"Who's next?" she asked coolly.
"Easy boys, this witch is tricky," said the next man in charge.
Fingers tightened on triggers and she frowned. "Aw now this hardly seems fair--"
They all fired at the same time. Freya was a heartbeat faster and launched into the air. She hovered high above, watching the attackers all fall dead in a perfect circle, by their own fire. She gently landed back in her original spot finishing her thought, "-For you that is."
She finally looked at Luke, who was staring at her in awe, his features very pale and shaken.
Here standing before him was the source of the distortion in the Force that he'd felt.
"Who are you?" he asked, regaining his strength. "And how--?"
"Freya," she answered simply, cutting him off, "that's all you need know. Do you know who that Solaren person is?"
Luke shook his head, "Never heard of him."
"Great," muttered Freya, "Oh well, we'll worry about him later. Right now we have to go find Lana and Terell."
She motioned for him to follow and they moved off at a swift pace.
"Damn it kid where the hell are you?" Han grumbled, scanning the crowd and not seeing any sign of Luke.
Leia tugged on his arm, "We should go back to the ship."
He pulled free of her worried grip. "We're not leaving him behind."
"We're not going to find him here, because he's not in this mess," Leia insisted.
With mild skeptical distraction Han asked, "How do you know that?"
"It's just a gut feeling. He's not here."
Han's full attention fell on her, gut feelings he understood and could trust. "Then where is he?"
"I don't know."
"What does your gut feeling tell you?"
Leia paused and thought of Luke, an image popped in her head of him and she pointed in a direction, "That way."
"Then that's the way we're going." Han took her hand and pushed their way through the crowd. They paused on the sidewalk. He looked at her again, this time expectantly. "Well, where to now?"
Leia glanced around and then pointed again. She followed after Han and was more than a little surprised when he purposely bumped into a tall, well armed man.
"Sorry," Han apologized and walked on. Leia caught up to him and he handed her the blaster that he had just liberated from the man.
"Could you be a little less obvious?" she said with mild irritation.
"Who me?" Han asked innocently. "Trust me, that guy had so many weapons that he's not going to miss just one."
As if on cue, the man had indeed noticed his missing blaster and yelled after them.
A guilty smile sprang onto Solo's face. "Then again, I could be wrong.Run! "
"This way, Flyboy," said the Princess, turning into an alley.
They lost the man easily in the maze and continued their search for Luke.
Terell finally managed to push his way through the milling crowd of curious on lookers and found himself on the other side of Stilmon's tavern, which was a total loss. The whole building was ablaze. A feeling of regret touched his heart and he scanned the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of the old man and his wife. It was no use, either they weren't there or-- He shook his head briskly, not wanting to think that they might not have made it out in time.
He slipped around a corner and whistled sharply for Creature, who flew down to him. "Alright, Creach, it's up to you.d Find Lana for me."
The animal sniffed the air, then flew to a higher spot and sniffed again. He looked back at Terell and shook his small head, then flew further up the street, letting fly with a piercing cry.
From somewhere in the maze of alleys she was in, Lana answered his call with a high pitched whistle. Terell followed after Creature at a run, when the animal took off in a direction.
Freya heard Creature's piercing cry and halted, listening.
Luke stopped when she did.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"The Guardian's been separated from Lana," she answered, still listening. She breathed a little easier when she heard Lana's answering whistle.
"Who's the Guardian?"
"Creature," she said, then finally feeling caged in by the alley walls she told him, "I'm going topside again."
Luke disagreed with this and insisted, "We should stay together."
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you."
And with that she once again launched herself into the air, to levitate up to the rooftops.
Luke felt sick again and fought to keep a clear head as he yelled after her, "How can you do that!"
She rotated in mid air, looking down at him in surprise and countered, "How can you not, Jedi?"
Luke had no answer to this. He did feel a lot better though when she stopped using her powers. "Do you see your friends?"
Freya shook her head.
:Where are you Lana: she called mentally. :Give me something.:
A bright red blaster shot went straight up into the air and gave Lana's position away to her. She had gone in the wrong direction, away from the hangers.
:Stay where you are and we'll come to you.:
:Hurry! I don't know where Terell is and I'm worried about him: Lana answered back. :And I think I'm being followed.:
:By who:
:I don't know.:
Freya looked down at Luke and shouted to him the direction she was taking. He gave a quick nod and started running after her.
Han followed Leia. She was leading him through the maze of allies, to where she felt sure they would find Luke.
Freya took to the air again, changing to the other side of the alley rooftops. She saw Terell and Creature heading Lana's way. She then saw Han and Leia rapidly approaching her Controller and knew that they would make it to her first. Not knowing who they were, she warned Lana of their location and that Terell was also coming to her as well.
"Hurry up Jedi, my friend's picked up a tail!" Freya shouted over her shoulder.
Luke had stopped when she had and was leaning against the side of a building, trying not to lose his focus. He took a deep breath and called back up to her. "Is it more of those men?"
"No, just one man and a woman."
Luke straightened, his senses shocked back into full clarity as a flash of his vision hit him. Leia was falling to the ground. He shook his head briskly and asked. "What do they look like?"
"The man's kind of tall, dark hair, looks to be Corellian and the woman is a little shorter than me with brown hair."
"Those are my friends, Han and Leia," he told her, then urgently inquired, "Does Lana have a blaster?"
"Of course she does."
Without explanation, Luke took off running, heading in the right direction.
Freya chased after him, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
Lana sensed the convergence on her position after Freya amended her previous warning about Han and Leia. All Lana understood was that they were with the man in black and that she was more scared than she had ever been before. Panic ruled her. She readjusted the power level on her weapon from stun to kill and risked a glance around the corner. Lana sharply pulled back and flattened against the wall, after catching the first sight of Han and Leia. Her heart beat a wild drumming in her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to calm her fear and readied herself for action. Terell ran through her terrified thoughts and gave her some ease, she could stand up to any threat so long as he was safe.
Broken glass, propped against the far alley wall, acted like a mirror and gave Lana a view around the corner without being seen. In their search for Luke, Han and Leia were closing in on Lana's position.
Terell thought that he felt a faint whisper in his ear of Lana desperately calling his name. She was scared, he sensed it through the Force and sped up a little more. Then he suddenly skidded to a halt when two men came out from an alley junction blocking his path. These two wore no helmets and looked identical. They pulled out a net and moved purposely towards the Alderaanian.
Backing up quickly, Terell whistled for Creature, who turned in mid flight and returned to help him. Terell shot at the two men but his blaster fire just bounced off their armor. In a rush of self defense he called on the Force; several small rocks levitated into the air and pelted the two men.
One fell to the ground after being struck in the head, while the other continued after the Force using Alderaanian. Terell dodged out of the way and grabbed his would be attacker from behind. The man struggled in his grip but couldn't free himself. He gasped as Terell gave his head a swift sharp snap to the left, braking his neck in one fluid motion.
The other man jumped to his feet and pulled out his weapon.
Terell dropped his deceased peruser and looked sharply over his shoulder when Creature shot past with a piercing cry.
The man took aim on Terell, but Creature was much too fast and pulled the weapon up with his prehensile tail. The momentum of this act carried the attacker off balanced and the fierce little Guardian rode his armored chest to the ground. There he opened his beak wide and then sprayed, from his nares, a deadly mist into man's face. Painful screams rent the air announcing the severity of Creature's toxic venom.
A third, helmeted, man came out of nowhere and grabbed Terell from behind. The Alderaanian flipped him over his back and landed him on the ground. He ripped his helmet off and was surprised to see yet another man that was identical to his other attackers.
The clone took advantage of Terell's momentary pause and aimed his blaster at him point blank. Terell's surprise turned to one of calm ease as he seized the man's wrist and squeezed a pressure point that dropped the weapon from his hand. He then broke his attacker's forearm against his knee.
The man screamed out in painful rage and tried to hit the Alderaanian as adrenaline took him rapidly back to his feet. Terell dodged his on coming fist and struck a pressure point in the neck of his combatant as he moved swiftly behind him. The Hunter froze and was grab around the neck. Creature flew to Terell, who turned his head away and held his breath as the animal hit his struggling prisoner with a lethal venomous mist.
Terell dropped the howling man to the ground. The stranger gasped and clawed at his streaming eyes and did not get back up.
Creature took flight again, leading Terell through the maze of allies.
Luke rounded the corner and saw Han and Leia. His shout to stop was enough of a distraction for Lana to make a grab for the first person to come into her reflected view. Luke's blood went cold as Princess Leia suddenly disappeared from his sight.
His shout for her alerted Han, who turned and aimed his blaster at Leia's unseen abductor. Luke heard Lana's threat against the Princess' life to Han, who then instantly dropped his blaster on the ground and raised his hands placatingly. Luke ran faster then he ever had before.
"Lana don't! " he shouted as he skidding up next to Han. "We're here to help!"
Terrified, Lana pulled the Princess back against herself, tightening her grip on her hostage and pressing her blaster muzzle against Leia's right temple.
Leia did not fight to free herself, but remained calm as she spoke to the frightened Corellian. "We're with the Alliance. I'm Princess Leia Organa."
"Shut up!" Lana snapped, while staring at the man from her nightmares. He was real. Her panic was complete. She stepped back sharply, pulling Leia with her, when Luke took a cautious step forward. "I'll kill her I swear it, now back off! "
Lana was visibly shaking, her eyes filled with unbridled fear.
Luke backed up a short step, his expression turning calm as he spoke gently to her. "I know that your scared, but believe me, we're not the enemy." He offered her his hand, "We came to take you home."
Lana's eyes darted to his offered hand. . . his black gloved hand. Her mouth went dry, it was just like her dream. If she took that hand her life would forever change and she would lose Terell. She tried to reclaim control over her fear but found that she couldn't when her focus traveled over Luke's black uniform.
Here, standing before her, she knew was death.
Luke met her terrified watery eyes and realized that her fear was beyond reason.
"No. . ." She shook her head, unwilling to trust in him. "I'm not going to lose him," she barely whispered.
Han stepped forward, trying his hand with a simple heartfelt, "Please, let her go."
"One more step andshe dies! " Lana warned in a growling sob, more to Luke, than to Han. "What have you done with Freya?"
"I'm right here," Freya exclaimed after she jumped down from the rooftop next to the Jedi. "What are you doing? Can't you see that they're with him?"
In her panic Lana didn't hear her friend. "Get over here! " she protectively ordered.
"But they're our ride out," Freya insisted, clearly not understanding her Controller's panic of emotions.
"GO find Terell! Get him to the Maybel and get out of here!" Lana ordered.
"I already told you that he was on his way," said Freya, glancing around for their missing teammate. "He should be here any second."
In the split second when Lana's attention darted to her friend, Luke called her blaster from her hand to his with the Force.
Real worry flashed in Princess Leia's eyes as she gasped and moved back with Lana. She automatically grasped at her captor's hand around her throat, then she froze and her arms fell weakly to her sides when Lana pressed down on a paralyzing pressure point behind her ear.
Deadly heat was in the Corellian's eyes as she refocused on the Jedi. "I don't need a blaster to kill her."
Though an anxious beat had captured his heart, Luke's expression remained calm. He cleared his mind of the Princess and focused all his thoughts on Lana. Her fearful doubt filled his mind. "I feel the conflict within you, you don't want to do this."
"I will if you don't back off! " she warned dangerously.
Han inched closer to the Jedi.
Luke stood his ground and, with an inconspicuous hand movement, used the Force again. ":You will let her go now,:" he said, speaking in a peaceful hypnotic tone.
He had tried this Jedi mind trick only two times before and for the second time it failed.
"Nice try, Jedi. But that only works on weak minded fools," Lana snarled. She tightened her grip on Leia, "Which I'm not. So keep your thoughts to yourself and stay out of my head, or say good-bye to her now."
Terell and Creature finally arrived on the scene some thirty feet away. He saw Han grab the blaster from Luke's hand and point it at Lana to give up her hostage. Without a second thought the Alderaanian called the weapon from Solo's hand before his focus swept over Lana's prisoner. Terell's heart gave a painful leap of surprise and he darted forward at once.
"Lana, stop! "
He skidded to a halt right in front of her, blocking her line of sight on Luke. His sudden appearance had an immediate effect on the scared Corellian, which snapped her out of her panic state.
"You're alright! " she exclaimed greatly relieved to see him alive. She looked him over for any added injuries. "Were you hurt?"
"This is my people's Princess," Terell said, ignoring her question. The look in his eyes was one of great disapproval as he took hold of her wrists and pulled. "Let her go."
Lana finally released Leia, who stumbled forward with a gasp for breath. Terell steadied her with a sincere apology that Lana echoed. The Princess only nodded, bearing no ill will. She rubbed behind her ear while she moved aside. Lana then threw her arms around Terell and held onto him tightly, very relieved that he was with her again.
Han and Luke instantly went to the Princess. She hugged each in turn, assuring them that she was alright.
"I told you two to stay with the ships," Luke said, his tone disappointed as he hugged the Princess. "Why did you leave?"
Han's expression turned sarcastic, "I think you know the answer to that one. What happened to the simple pick up?"
"I don't know," he said. With a glimmer of uncertainty Luke explained what happened with Gavin inside Stilmon's tavern. And then his ambush in the alley, just a short while ago.
Terell quickly relayed his own ambush and then asked if Stilmon and Maybs got out of the tavern in time?"
He, Lana and Freya, all breathed a little easier when Luke nodded. The Jedi then somberly told them of how Maybs had given them away.
"I told you we couldn't trust her!" Freya exclaimed, glaring at her two friends as angry tears freed themselves. "She's responsible for-- for all of this! I'll kill her," she turned to Luke with fire burning in her eyes, "Where is she?"
Luke did not answer her.
Terell and Lana reached for the upset empath before she could act on her threat and pulled her into a consoling embraced.
"That won't bring them back," Terell told her wisely.
Freya buried her face against his chest and held onto him and Lana tightly while emotion washed over her.
"I'm so sorry I panicked," Lana whispered to her friends, feeling the weight of her decisions pressing down on her. Tears filled her eyes as she met Terell's somber gaze. "Promise you'll never leave my side again."
"Not if I can help it," he agreed affectionately. He gave her a little smile and then lightly kissed her lips.
Freya openly fed off their love for one another and recovered herself. She forced herself not to let Bailen's death overrun her just yet.
Lana turned and once again apologized to the Princess.
Han did a kind of double take on Lana when Leia brushed off her apology.
"No need for apologies Lieutenant Solo. If you had really wanted to kill me I have no doubts that you would have done it. And under the current circumstances I might have done the same thing were I in your shoes."
Terell then offered his hand to first Han and then Luke, introducing himself and his two female companions.
The Jedi began to return the introduction when Solo cut him off.
"I don't want to rush all the formalities, but we are in a bit of a hurry."
His statement was supported by Creature's warning cry from the two story rooftop above. Freya went topside at once and was surprised by what she saw heading their way.
"We've got company!" she warned.
"Which way?" Terell asked.
"From the northeast and the west! I'd say about half a click."
"How many?" Lana questioned next.
Freya shook her head, "More than ten." She then shouted down to Luke, "It looks like that Solaren guy has more friends."
"Who's Solaren?" Terell and Lana curiously echoed.
"Just another nasty person who wants to kill us," Freya answered, as though this was no big deal. She jumped to another roof to get a closer look. "Make that more than twenty," she amended her last count sharply, "It looks like some of the locals are joining in on the fun. They're coming out of the woodwork. Who are these guys?"
Everyone moved.
Terell automatically handed Lana back her weapon. Then turned and called Han's discarded blaster to his hand and gave it to him.
"Thanks," said Solo, who over protectively pulled Leia behind him.
"Time to earn our pay the hard way," Lana said with a sarcastic grin.
Terell looked down at her with a charismatic smile and took her hand. "Who likes doing things the easy way, how boring is that?" he asked, while pulling out his own blaster.
Lana caught Luke eying Terell briefly and her whole demeanor changed in an instant. There was fear in her eyes but this time she didn't let it control her. She placed herself between Terell and the Jedi.
Luke didn't understand why she was giving him a warning look when she knew who he was now.
"Which way to your ship?" Lana asked Han.
He pointed west. "That way, across the boulevard and to your left. Chewie and Lando are waiting for us in the Falcon."
There was no avoiding it, they were going to have to fight their way back to the hanger.