AND NEVER RETURN
CHAPTER TEN
Author's Note: Special thanks to my new roommate, Azelynn Blackwell, who helped me with this chapter (mainly deciding Daryn's rather oddball though creative excuse).
Daryn drummed his fingertips on the transparisteel window and watched dispassionately as Kath'alon again disappeared beneath the clouds. Hopefully this would be the last time he would have to be on that gods-forsaken planet. Kath'alon reminded him too strongly of Xa Fel, where he had been stationed for three months.
It still amazed Daryn how his Intel career had begun. His stormtrooper regiment had been posted on Xa Fel to protect the scientists there. He had pulled some strings and spent leave on nearby Kuat. It was luck, pure and simple, that Daryn was leaving a seedy bar and ran right into a young man, barely conscious, blood seeping from a head wound. He kept muttering that his mission was of absolute importance. Forewarned of vicious street gangs, Daryn decided to take the injured man to his hotel room. It hadn't taken much for him to guess what the man's mission was—rumors of a Rebel group on Kuat had been circulating on Xa Fel for months.
By the time, Konner woke, Daryn had stopped caring that his leave only lasted one more day and decided to help this determined man finish his job. Konner tried to sneak out to retrieve a datacard he'd left behind, but he was barely strong enough to leave the bed.
Daryn stifled a smirk behind his hand. He had been careless, practically just sauntering into the bar and up to the suspected Rebel contact. He was lucky to not have become target practice. He had laid down a story so full of nerf shit he could almost smell it himself. The woman looked him over with a hostile eye and Daryn was certain she would refuse. But apparently it wasn't unusual for a person on Kuat to help a grandmother cross a street and be run over by a deathstick dealer speeding away from a scene of a robbery. The woman "inconspicuously" slid the datacard across the table with a mug of lomin-ale.
Konner had been impressed and insisted that Daryn accompany him when he returned to headquarters. And thus began Daryn Amet's Imperial Intelligence career. It was unexpected, to say the least. One day he was a stormtrooper patrolling Xa Fel without much of a future, and with just a few choices, he was put through the Intel academy on the Empire's credit and partnered with Konner Donteril, the man he'd saved and also considered one of, if not the brightest agent in years.
And now he was stuck in the Qantul system. Stretching his legs, he spared a sideways at Skywalker, who had fallen asleep almost immediately. At least Daryn was assured that Skywalker was unarmed. Kath'alon's automated security ensured that no one boarded their ships with any weaponry.
If someone had told Daryn while he was in the stormtrooper academy on Carida that one day he would sit next to the most hated man in the Empire and they wouldn't be hostile to each other, he would have punched the bastard's lights out. As it was, Lady Fate had a strange sense of humor.
"You never used to show nervousness before," Konner commented off-handedly. Mara stopped, one foot in midair.
"Excuse me?"
"You're pacing. Obvious evidence of nerves." He straightened up in his chair to stretch, and then slouched again. "Don't worry about Skywalker. Daryn's the best. He'll get your Jedi here."
"My Jedi," she snorted. "He's not my Jedi. And that man always finds a way to get into trouble." She sighed and sat on the edge of Konner's desk.
Almost two days had passed as Mara impatiently awaited Luke's arrival on Eqiirsa. At first Konner had ordered her "confined to quarters" until the Rebel landed, but Mara grew bored with her room, sliced into the lock mechanism on her door and decided to take a self-guided tour through the underground base. It came as a surprise to Mara when she only ran into two other people. This was Konner's headquarters, wasn't it? Where was everyone?
She finally found her way down to Konner's office and was in the process of overriding that keypad when the Imperial himself showed up and invited her in for a cup of caf. He didn't even mention the fact that she was supposed to be locked in her room, instead opting to ask, "So, what's been going on since I tumbled off the face of the galaxy?"
Mara tried to use the tact she'd skipped earlier as she filled Konner in on the major events in the rest of the galaxy since the destruction of the first Death Star. She skipped over Luke's importance and instead highlighted the incompetence of the Imperial leaders, except for Grand Admiral Thrawn. Konner had been an apt listener, with few though intelligent questions.
It wasn't until news came in that Daryn's flight was expected to arrive that she and Konner lapsed into uncomfortable silence again. She had only vaguely mentioned how she and Skywalker knew each other, and Konner must have known she was keeping things from him.
A man's voice through the comm brought a welcome distraction. "Sir, Daryn Amet's just shown up. He has another person with 'im. Don't have a good visual, sir, the guy's wearin' a hood."
"Let them in." Konner pulled his hand away form the comm unit. "See? I told you Daryn would bring him here. No need to worry."
"Who's worried?" Mara muttered, but then she asked, "Is that standard procedure here? You guys have a watchman?" She hadn't seen any cameras outside the door when she and Daryn entered.
"No. Normally it's just the outside keypad."
"Why's today special?"
"Not today; just this afternoon," Konner corrected. "When you sliced into your door, you set off our alarms. I had to put Gets on watchman detail until we reset the system. Daryn and your buddy get to enter through our manual door, about a quarter a mile in that direction." Konner gestured vaguely. "Good thing it's warm in here, because they are going to want to defrost after this inconvenience."
"There wouldn't be an 'inconvenience' if you hadn't locked me in my room."
"Correction, there wouldn't be an inconvenience if you hadn't sliced your way out of the room which we locked you in for very good reasons."
"Like?"
"You're new here, Mara. I can't just let you wander around without an escort."
"What, you think I'm going to sabotage the best chance I have to get off this planet? I don't think so."
Konner gave her a look that clearly stated "Drop it." Mara rolled her eyes.
"You aren't thinking logically."
"You don't and can't know what I'm thinking, Jade." His voice grew colder.
"You don't know whether or not to trust me anymore," she retorted. "And I know that because I've been thinking the same thing since I saw your name on that datacard."
Konner opened his mouth to retort, but the door opened and in walked Luke Skywalker.
Luke released the tight hold he had on his Force presence when he entered the dark building. He was grateful the walls protected him from the freezing wind that had nearly blown him off his feet and cut into his skin despite the cloak he had wrapped around his body. He made a mental note to get warmer clothing if he was going to have to stay on Eqiirsa for long.
He could feel Mara's bright presence meters beneath him and tried to be patient as Daryn led him down staircases and through long corridors. They double-backed a few times and Daryn off-handedly explained that it was because he didn't know his way in through the back entrance as well.
Luke clearly heard the lie and wondered if Daryn was deliberately trying to skew his sense of direction and get him completely lost. If that was his intention, Luke had to grudgingly admit, he was successful.
Finally the taller man stopped outside of yet another door and punched in a code to open it. He gestured for Luke to enter.
The first thing Luke noticed was that the room was much warmer than the hallway. The next was Mara. She sat on the edge of the desk in the center of the office. She looked fine, dressed in a loose long-sleeved tunic and skirt. Her boots dangled just above the floor and her hair was pulled back tightly. Luke surprised himself at the relief that washed over him at her sight.
"You're okay?" he asked. He studied her, looking for any sign of injury.
"Yeah. You?"
"Okay." There was another man in the room. This man was taller than Luke and had short black hair and dark brown eyes. His eyes were the most striking feature in his handsome face—Luke immediately recognized the intelligence in them. This man was the leader. "I'm Luke Skywalker. I want to thank you for your help, Mr..."
"Donteril, Konner Donteril. I know very well who you are, Skywalker." The way Konner spoke, it was almost a threat. "Jade here has caught me up on current events. She's also told me that you're a pilot and a fair mechanic."
"That's true," Luke confirmed.
"What have you flown?"
"X-wings, primarily. Uh, various shuttles, like the Lambda class. Snowspeeders, skyhoppers…Give me a few minutes and I can fly just about anything."
"Overconfidence is not something I would expect from a Jedi Knight, Skywalker. Aren't Jedi supposed to be humble?"
Luke noted the man's Coruscant accent—if it was true and there hadn't been a Newcomer in over eight years, this man was Imperial. Mara had mentioned she'd worked with Konner before. "I—"
"You are a Jedi, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am." There wasn't much else he could say. He glanced over at Mara, who seemed bored with the entire exchange. She would warn him if something were wrong. Evidently Mara considered it important to reveal Luke as a Force-user. Did Konner also know of Mara's Jedi potential?
"So for that reason alone I should help you escape the Qantul system?" An added lilt to his voice let Luke know Konner wanted an answer. The man was testing him.
"No. Apparently you believe the same thing I do. The Shrigan shouldn't keep people here against their will. It's because I do not want to stay here that I should be allowed to leave."
"You don't think your rank as Jedi should give you special treatment?"
"No."
Konner smiled briefly. "Good, because we don't give special treatment. If you want out of here, you have to work as hard as the rest of us."
"I wouldn't have expected anything less."
"We wouldn't accept anything less," was Konner's quick reply.
"Boys," Mara scowled, finally entering the conversation. "Are you finished yet? Both of you want to get out of this system as much as I do, so how about we cut the crap and get to work?"
"Of course, Mara," Konner responded, never looking away from Luke. "First of all, I figure it's best to introduce you to some of the people you'll be working with."
Konner typed something into the computer console on his desk, then led the two Jedi out of his office and back up the hall. Luke shivered a little and pulled the cloak around himself more. He walked next to Mara.
You sure you're okay? he asked.
Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be? My question is, why are you here? she snapped, irritated.
Daryn brought me here.
The glare Mara sent him could have frozen Tatooine's twin suns. "You know what I meant, Skywalker. Why are you in the Qantul system? Look, I can get myself out of trouble without your help. Now that you had to go and play 'hero', I have to get your ass out of here as well."
"Hey, I'm perfectly capable of—"
"Are you two finished yet?" Donteril asked politely, using Mara's own words. They were standing outside another door painted the same durasteel shade as the hallways. Luke realized that he and Mara had switched from using the Force to a verbal argument. He wondered how much had been said out loud.
Mara gave the Imperial one of her patented glares as he pushed open the door, revealing a large room. There were machines all around the room that looked like food synthesizers and one was definitely a caf machine as a tall Bothan balanced three mugs back to the rectangular table that was the focus of the room.
Six beings milled around, chatting with each other and scanning datapads. When the door opened, they glanced up at Konner, but took a second look when they saw the two new people. Daryn Amet entered the break room through the only other door, and a caf cup was pushed into his hands by the Bothan woman.
Certain he had everyone's attention, Konner started the meeting. "These are the two Newcomers: Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker. Both have joined our group."
"The woman we have all heard of," a woman said loudly. "But this man's an unknown. The woman will be useful, but no one even knew about this guy."
They've heard of you? Luke asked Mara.
She glanced at him briefly with her response: I took out a couple of the Shrigan's ships, as well as five of their boarding crew.
Only three? he asked, sarcastically.
I would have taken out more had one not gotten lucky, she answered with a feral smile.
You were hurt? What happened? he tried to sound conversational, but the worry slipped out anyway.
Mara gave him a look that clearly stated, "Leave it alone."
Konner had continued speaking, unaware of their silent conversation. "I've seen Skywalker in the air," he lied easily. "He's a strong pilot and will be in charge of Ship Three."
"And the redhead? Is she a pilot as well? We have enough pilots, Donteril," the woman continued to argue. "We don't need any more people in the control group. Especially not people who have barely been here a week."
"Jade will fill in wherever necessary, Ekata. I've known Mara for years and she is qualified to step in for any of our places." Konner's tone was matter-of-fact, but it was an open warning to Ekata to be quiet and stop questioning him. Her resulting silence and sullen look told the Jedi Master that Konner had won the disagreement.
"As you all know, Mara and Luke are recent arrivals, but they both offered their talents. They will be in the control group with us." His tone made it clear he would welcome no dissent on the matter. "Now, I called all of you in not only to introduce you to our newest people, but to confirm that, yes, our time is nearing."
There were a few murmurs, quieted quickly as Konner continued to speak.
"Deinara Reliqa will be joining us in an hour or two and you will be given the information directly. Deinara is the one we have on the 'inside'," the Intel agent explained for the Jedi's benefit. "She can explain all when she arrives. As for right now—"
"Deinara is coming as well?" Ekata interrupted. "You bring three new people here? What happened to your caution?"
"Deinara has been with us for years. She is not new," Konner said, his eyes narrowing.
"We have never met her."
"She has been giving us important information for years."
"Supposedly. All we know is that an anonymous person had been sending us useful info. We never even got a name until two months ago."
"That is enough, Ekata," he said firmly. He purposefully turned away from her to Luke and Mara. "To begin our introductions, this is Ekata Da'lan." The outspoken red Twi'lek nodded her head in acknowledgement. "She is one of our pilots. Ship One. Fyzenkre'nat is our navigator. He's in charge of giving us our coordinates, since the navcomps here seem rather primitive. Fyzen will also copilot Ship One." Luke guessed that Fyzen was the blue-skinned man with his arm around Ekata's waist. His lekku twitched nervously and Ekata gently patted his arm.
"Montrina Elebne," this time Konner gestured to the human woman, "is an experienced mechanic." The woman's face was hard, her expression hostile. Her brown hair was cropped short and her forearms, crossed over her chest, were bigger than Luke's. Despite standing six feet, she was dwarfed by the black and silver Wookiee behind her. "And that's Krezelaak. He's learned from Montrina to be a competent mechanic. He and Montrina will check out both ships before we board. Unfortunately Krezelaak doesn't speak Basic, though he understands it fluently. Montrina can translate Wookiee relatively well, if you need to talk to him."
Luke opened his mouth to say that he also understood Wookiee, but Mara nudged him.
"Shendre Kouleet and his daughter," the Bothan man lifted his caf mug to Luke and Mara and attractive tan-furred woman gave a short wave. "Shendre is in charge of Ship Two. Kalika will be his copilot.
"Triller Fontel…where is Triller?" Konner glanced around. "He was supposed to be here," his voice dropped, "the little twerp…" A squat green Rodian pushed his way to the front. Luke hadn't even noticed him before. "Triller, good to see you away from your computer. Triller is in charge of communications. He's also our slicer."
Konner looked at everyone in turn, then spoke to Luke and Mara. "This is our point team. We have a little over three dozen more members, but they can't help us with this part."
"How many non-Shrigan live in the system?" Luke asked. He could understand why some people would be reluctant to leave a planet they'd lived on for years.
"It's unusual for people to stumble across the system, but one of the Shrigan's catches was a cruise ship, like twenty-five years ago. There are just shy of five hundred people, but many of those are descendants and they refuse to leave the only home they know. Almost all of the people we talked to didn't want anything to do with us. Any who wanted to join us have a seat on one of the three ships." The small comlink attached to Konner's collar beeped and he flicked it on. "Yes?"
He listened for a minute, then cursed. "Alright, thanks." He turned to the group.
"Change of plans. Deinara can't make it right now, so we're going to cut this meeting short. Daryn, I need to speak with you. The rest, dismissed."
(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do not use without permission of the writer.