Chapter 14
Alora looked at the young man and held his shoulders firmly; looking into his eyes she said in a firm yet gentle voice, "whoa, slow down son. What's wrong?"
The young man, no more then sixteen looked at the woman, fear in his eyes, "It's-It's Mister Warn, he's- he's been killed" The man trembled and said with pleading eyes, "You will help us, won't you?"
Alora was shocked and replied, "Are you sure? I just saw Mister Warn yesterday evening." "Yes, Master Jedi, I am quite sure, now, will you go to him?"
Alora quickly replied, and without a second thought said, "Yes, I will go. Can you take me there?" The young man nodded and dashed to his speeder, which was a few speeders down from Alora's borrowed one.
Alora quickly followed the man and upon jumping onto her speeder, she quickly turned all her interments on and didn't bother pre-flight checking her speeder. Once everything was green, Revan pushed the speeder into full throttle and followed the young man with keen eyes, dodging incoming and sideways traffic. Within a few minutes, the two had reached the crime scene. Alora had also considered that this could be a trap, but upon reviewing the situation and the young man, she could tell that this was no trap. The minute her speeder reached the ground, she walked to the young man and paid him 50 credits. She then left him, not caring if he followed her or not. As she swiftly walked to the crime scene, she was stopped by a young police officer and said stoutly, "Hold it Master Jedi, I cannot permit you to enter, unless you are, uh," He then paused in his speech and looked at his chart, his index finger reading through the list of names. Finally, he came across the name, Alora Derrin, Jedi Knight. "Unless you are Jedi Knight Alora Derrin."
Alora only smiled gently, though inside, she was getting a little aggravated; she wanted to get to work! "Yes, I am Jedi Knight Alora Derrin, now, please, let me through." She emphasized the last part of her sentence, "Please let me through." She also allowed a hint of annoyance leak through her voice, making her point clear.
The young man cleared his throat and replied "Ahmm, yes, of course, I'll let you through." He then stepped aside to allow the Jedi Knight in.
After Alora walked a few steps inside the crime scene, she turned around and said, "Excuse me officer…." Not knowing the officers name, she leaned on he right foot and studied his name tag, seeing that his last name was Yaran, she continued, "Excuse me officer Yaran, who is the commanding officer for this investigation?"
Yaran about-faced and pointed to a fairly tall man, his back turned to the two and replied, "That's him Master Jedi, and he goes by Commander Gavan."
Alora only nodded and left the man alone. As she quickly strode to the officer she said with an authoritative voice, "Commander Gavan! May I speak with you please?"
Commander Gavan who was taking up notes and reports by the few witnesses turned around and saw a female Jedi stride toward him. He noticed that her shoulders were thrown back in an authoritative stance; her walk was long and powerful and had a look in her eyes that said nothing but, "Find the killer, let's get this done. And done right."
Commander Gavan immediately went into a salute and replied sternly, "Yes, Mater Jedi?" His whole body was tense and at attention. He was treating Jedi Derrin as if she was his superior commander. In which, in a way she was. "At ease Commander, I want a full report, analysis and everything within ten minutes. I will be investigating the body." With that, she did an about face, her stance and walk told everyone she was in charge and to obey her.
Gavan went at ease, putting his hands behind his back and his legs spread slightly apart. Gavan would often nod his head from time to time. The moment his new superior was finished with him, he did a 90 degree right turn and said in a commanding voice, "Officer Jas, bring me everything concerning the death of Mister Warn, now!" Once he finished giving the order to Officer Jas, he gave orders to others of his team. By the time everyone had gathered the information he requested, he only had a few minutes to spare before he would report back to Jedi Knight Alora Derrin. During his remaining "free" time, he continued to question the witnesses.
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Alora soon reached the dead body and squatted down; her eyes squinted as she studied everything carefully. Alora studied the way he was positioned in death, if his eyes showed any shock, his garments, and his surroundings. As her fingers traced over his body, careful not to touch his body, she noticed an area that had been incinerated. As she studied the area and the anatomy of his body she soon realized that this hole, this incinerated area once belonged to his heart. Closing her eyes, she felt sorry for the man, yet was grateful at the same time. She was grateful that this man had met a painless death. However, Alora was experiencing something unusual, as she closed her eyes and silently mourned for the man's death; she felt a burning within her heart, like a small fire building up inside her. Not knowing was taking place, she continued to concrete on this burning sensation and as this feeling began to grow she began to feel the emotions of anger, hate, revenge, and justice.
Alora quickly jumped to her feet and looked about, her eyes slightly wide with terror. She knew these feelings all to well. They belonged to the dark side and that was a path she did not want to travel again. As she summoned the force, she calmed the waves of emotions flowing inside her. Once her own feelings were peaceful once more, she resumed her study of Mister Warn's body. Finally, Alora had an idea, she knew someone who would be great at assisting her in this investigation. Activating her comlink, she hailed HK-47 and replied, "HK, I need you here pronto, follow my comlink signal." She then deactivated the audio on he comlink, though, she left power on, that way HK could track her location. As she waited, she returned to Commander Gavan and said sternly, "Commander, is that report ready?" "Yes, Master Jedi, here is the report, everything is up to date." "Very good Commander Gavan. I will have more orders for you shortly, until then, resume your previous investigation duties."
As Alora studied the data-pad, she read everything carefully and analyzed almost every single word, sentence, and paragraph. "We have studied the body and have confirmed that this used to be the man Javoor Warn and was the owner of an Airspeeder company called "Luxury Rentals." So far, we have concluded that Mister Javoor Warn was assassinated. However, we do not have any solid proof as of yet. We are currently having our own medical team examine the blood samples and his possessions, hoping to find any trace of the killer. However, our search has been unrewarding. On the other hand, we might discover some clues of the murder with the interview of the little wittiness that saw Mister Warn's death. Upon Mister Warn's death, he was holding a data-pad of some sort, upon further study; we have concluded that this was an important document and that Mister Warn was heading his way to "Perfect Speeders" Airspeeder company. Also, along with this data- pad, there was a small comlink in which he could record his personal thoughts. There was only one message and this is what it revealed. "Today, I am meeting with my rival, in hopes that we can settle this dispute peacefully. I am running quite late and..." After that, there was only static, as if his recording had been abruptly cut off.
Commander's Note: "I only hope that we can settle this soon."
As Alora read the report, she tightened her grip on the data-pad and gave a furious look. Underneath her breath she muttered, "That Schutta!" By just reading the data-pad alone Alora had jumped to the conclusion that the owner of Perfect Speeders was the one that killed Mister Warn. Though Alora had no proof that Mister Khan was the killer, Alora didn't care. As far as she was concerned, she was right, and was going to take care of Mister Khan personally. As of why she thought this, perhaps she liked Mister Warn better then Mister Khan. Perhaps her "personal" feelings were causing her to be…emotional, whatever the reason; Alora had just "popped a cork." Anger filled her heart and with her emotions running "wild" Alora activated her comlink and summoned Bastila. Without giving a chance for Bastila to reply she said in a fuming and commanding bark, "Get down here, now! Here is my location." With that, she shut off her audio on her comlink once again and re-read the data-pad. She did not caring if she left a confused Bastila in her wake. When both HK and Bastila arrived, she spoke in her angry voice yet again. "Bastila, you are going to take my place and are not allowed in any circumstances to leave this place. Understood?" Once again, without waiting for a reply from her assistant, she turned to HK and said, "HK, I don't want to hear any objections from you. You are going to scrutinize this man." She said, pointing to the dead corpse of Mister Warn. "And figure out how far, when, and what type of weapon he was shot with." "Statement: But master." Alora held up a finger and said, "I told you HK, I'm not going to argue with you. Now, just do what you're told!" She glared at each of her companions and began to race off toward her speeder bike, her stride full of one emotion….anger.
Just as Alora was about to start up her speeder, she heard a voice and looked up. She noticed it was Bastila approaching her. Rolling her eyes, she sat there; her hands were clenched tightly into a ball, her fingernails digging into her skin, causing a small amount of pain, though Alora was too enraged to even care. Knowing that she could easily leave before Bastila was even close to reaching her, Alora was half-curious as to what the brunet woman would say. When Bastila was within ear reach she said in annoyance, "Now what?"
When Bastila heard and felt the anger of her friend and companion she said, "Jedi Knight Alora Derrin, what is your problem! Just where are you going? And your emotions...they are nothing but the dark side; surely you can sense it within yourself! Besides….." However, as she was about to say more, she was cut off by a harsh voice.
"For Force's sake Bastila…Shut UP! Don't you ever get tired of being so preachy? Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk? I'm surprised you haven't worn out your voice with all the preaching you do! Oh, and another thing, I hate your voice. It's always so miss prissy and high and mighty voice. Never a normal and quite voice. So, why don't you do me a favor and leave…..go do MY job until I return. As to where I'm going, that's none of your flaming business! If you really care, find out for yourself!" With that, she flipped her controls to the on position with a harsh movement of her hands. Once her power was on, she leaned forward and revved up the engine, putting the speeder into full power. With that, she glared at Bastila one last time and flew off, her destination…..Perfect Speeders.
Bastila stood in shock; she couldn't believe what she had just heard. She had never seen or heard Alora so angry. Bastila was now very concerned for Alora. Walking up to the commander, she spoke in a firm voice, "Commander Gavan, I need to know everything that Jedi Knight Alora Derrin has done." With that, she walked over to HK and asked, "What have you found out HK-47?" "Statement: This meatbag was assassinated 9.5 feet away and was shot at from an angle of 4.5 degrees. The weapon that was used, I have yet to find out." With that, he left Bastila and continued this "studies".
Commander Gavan then walked up to Bastila and said, "Excuse me Master Jedi, here is the list of item's you requested." "Thank you Commander, continue on with your work please." With that, she studied the report, the possessions of Mister Warn, though; she could not find anything that would lead to Alora's outburst. Closing her eyes, Bastila summoned the Force and tried to use their weak bond to locate Alora. However, she felt nothing. Only silence…it was like she was in a vast sea of nothingness. Frowning, she called to HK and said, "HK-47 can you track down your Master? Is her comlink still on?" "Statement: Affirmative meatbag. My Master's comlink is still active, tracing single now." Bastila nodded and said, "Come to me immediately when you have found her location." She then walked of briskly to a private area and summoned Carth Onasi. The moment Carth answered, she said in a grave and serious voice, "Carth, we have run into some problems here. I need you as soon as possible. I will tell you everything when you get here." With that, she signed out. Though, she too left her comlink on, so Carth could follow her signal.
HK-47 soon returned to Bastila and replied, "Statement: Master is currently in Perfect Speeders main building. As to want room, I cannot say." Bastila nodded and replied, "Very good HK-47, continue with your original orders." Bastila stood still, her mind deep in thought, "What could she be doing there? Is she going to question Mister Khan? No, she was much too infuriated to do that. Did she think that Mister Khan murdered Mister Warn? But what would make her come to that conclusion? She had no proof. Unless…unless her feelings, her emotions got the better of her. I'm going to Perfect Speeders and see what's going on. I just hope Alora doesn't end up doing something she'll regret."
Walking over to the Commander she spoke sternly, "Commander, I am leaving you in charge. There is something important that I must take care of. Contact me via-comlink if the message is urgent." "Yes, Master Jedi." With that, he turned around and began to bark orders to his comrades.
Bastila then raced to her Airspeeder and was prepping up the engines when Carth landed beside her. Yelling over the noise of his Airspeeder he asked in a concerned voice, "what's the matter Bastila? Why did you call me?" He then let his eyes scan over the murder scene and did not see his lover, Alora." Returning his gaze to Bastila, he asked, "Where is Alora? Isn't she supposed to be in charge here?" "We don't have time Carth. Follow me…quickly!" With that, she pulled the throttle forward and flew off, heading at a fast speed to Perfect Speeder's headquarters. Once she landed, she jumped off her speeder and dashed into the building, ignoring the receptionist that greeted her.
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Khan kept his hands to his throat, his lips were turning blue and his eyes were wide with terror. All the while, he kept looking at Alora, his eyes begging for mercy, because his voice could not. While he helplessly suffocated, he would kick his legs, hoping to feel for some type of ground underneath him. But alas, each time he kicked or tired to bring breath back into his lungs, hew would only suffer more.
Alora's eyes were full of rage, her left hand pointed in the air, clenched in a fist. That hand- that fist was controlling Mister Khan. Her hand was the one griping Khan's throat. She was using the Force to choke him, to kill him slowly. As she slowly killed Mister Khan she spoke in a voice with such rage, that it would almost make you tremble, "You son of a schutta!" She screamed with great fury. "You murderer! No wonder you do not have any rivals. If you don't silence them with your money, you some how knock them off. You knock them off cleverly, so the murder wouldn't be pointed back to you. You hire bounty hunters; Merc's to do your job. But you make sure they do the job so good, that it remains a mystery or the cause of death is always marked natural. You got a little sloppy didn't you Mister Khan?" She said his last name with such venom and scorn that it hung in the air, making the choking man winch with the words that were coming from the woman's stinging tongue. Alora was angry, no, furious, she moved the man with the will of the Force and began to slap him up against the wall, making the small holo-images and other items fall off the wall and onto the floor. Her once blue-grey eyes were now turning into a light shade of yellow. Her once beautiful tan skin was becoming a pale grey. Something or perhaps someone was driving at her heart, turning her once pure heart into the pit of evil. The room's surroundings were no longer calm and peaceful, but were dark and almost mysterious. While Alora spoke, she would often tighten the grip on the man's throat, causing him to choke even more. Perhaps Malak was right; perhaps Revan wasn't a true light side woman. She could easily be tipped to one side or another, as the case is now. She was so blinded by hate, by rage that she did not notice Bastila or Carth standing in the doorway, starring on with shock.
Finally, Bastila found her voice and said in and authorized voice, "Alora! Stop right now!" She continued to approach closer to Revan, only to be sent flying back out of the room and hit the metal railing that outlined the second floor. Bastila hit the rail so hard that her breath was taken out of her. Struggling to rise to her feet, she managed to whisper to Carth, "Do something……"
Carth watched on as Bastila was stricken, he noticed that Revan didn't even turn to face the burnet woman, she only moved her right hand behind her and used to the Force to blow the woman back with great velocity. Clearing his throat somewhat, he began to slowly approach the enraged woman and said peacefully, "Alora? Can you hear me? It is I, Carth…Stop it. You are hurting this man." He looked up and could tell if the man was able to speak, his words would be something along these lines, "Oh? You think?" You are becoming what you hate; you are becoming Darth Revan again." However, too much of Carth's disappointment, the words did not affect the woman. His words only seemed to echo through the room, not affecting anyone or anything. Carth knew what he had to do, but he wasn't sure if he could do it. Gradually, he let his right hand drop to his waist and slowly and quietly he unhooked his blaster from his belt. Once he had adjusted the settings to stun, he aimed the gun at Alora's head. A lone tear began to form in his eye and with a desperate plea he called out in a whisper, "Don't make me do this…."
Major thanks to: JediRevanOnasi. Hope you enjoy!