Chapter 23

Keldu ducked and rolled out of the way of Llanef's rifle, coming up with her sapphire blade raised to deflect attack droid fire. Two green bolts glanced off of the blade and streaked back at the droid who had fired, landing in the joint between its head and neck. The horribly formed face flew from the silver plated body, revealing the inner workings of the droid.

She stretched out with the Force and yanked hard on its head. The thin neck snapped with a sharp pop and the head rocketed toward Keldu. She ducked as the head flew at her and pushed it as hard as she could into another droid. Both toppled.

She took one big sweep and sliced straight through five droids. Keldu pulled her lightsaber back in the other direction while stepping forward and took out another row of five.

She kept moving, slicing her way through line after line of droids and moving in Rix's direction.

He was moving, fast.

She wouldn't be able to catch up with him before he made it to a starship and blasted away, and they wouldn't make it back to the Cosmic Dragon either.

So Rix had slipped from their grasp, but maybe she could still catch Llanef. But just then the Hunter's Prize rocketed by over head, firing its laser cannons into the forest and setting it ablaze. One large tree very near to Keldu went up instantly into flames. She ran as hard as she could toward it with a plan in mind.

Reaching it, she held her sapphire blade high and with one mighty sweep brought the giant tree crashing down, taking out most of the remaining droids. The grass in the area all went up in flames and Mettranaloovye began charging from their fortress. Keldu spotted Lexoc running in the crowd, and Nerca and Oliso on the outside of the ring of grass fire.

Most of the Mettranaloovye who tried to run across the grass burned to death on the spot but those who did make it across ran straight into the Jedi and their lightsabers.

Lexoc was one of those who made it across, and as she neared Keldu could see her holding two objects in her hands. Then relief hit Keldu as she realized what they were: two lightsabers. Lexoc's and Jesbra's.

Just then another starship blazed by over head and the Hunter's Prize followed it into the upper atmosphere.

Rix must be aboard that ship, Keldu thought her muscles tightening. So, that's it. The battle's over, the fight is done and we lost Rix and Llanef. But we did what we came to do.

It is a victory, at least in part.

Later, the Jedi rounded up the remaining Mettranaloovye, found the Cosmic Dragon and Jesbra.

And discovered that Jesbra was now blind.

Oliso claimed that it was only temporary and that within a couple of weeks Jesbra's eyesight would return. It was an effect of the Mettranaloovye sickness, according to Oliso. The effect of not getting immediate treatment. Lexoc had some minor side effects, but nothing near to the sickness Jesbra had.

Now, the Cosmic Dragon streaked through hyperspace on its way back to Coruscant, and Nerca explained what she thought the answers were to the loose ends.

"When we thought Tonuu wasn't telling the whole truth, she wasn't telling us that she did know Anicaa, quite well actually. She had come in secret to Uunja for help after the Emh incident, against the will of the Verdinian people. They didn't wish to get caught up in the conflict between the Uunjaians and the Roloci.

"The particles I found on the banister," Nerca held up the small tube and emptied some of its contents onto her hand, "were a result of the type of engines on Rix's starfighter. It appears he was there after Llanef attacked Tonuu. I have examined them closely and run them through the IFF and have found the name of his fighter and its statistics. The 'Victorious' is a Tillisian fighter, Coruscant-class. Made in the unpopular shipyards orbiting Mil Ryyial, and modified.

"I still can't figure how he moved Lexoc and Jesbra from that pit so quickly, but I guess we'll never know." They all nodded.

"Taking over Uunja was his plan to lure us into his trap. He obviously hired Llanef to shoot Anicaa, sending the Uunjaians leaping onto the Roloci and starting the war that would lead most of the military forces away. Siding with the Mettranaloovye was an opportunity to seize us through my past with them and the information that my old pal Eli Jumelu supplied about me." Nerca's voice changed a bit toward resentment.

"Sounds reasonable to me, but why go after Tonuu as well?" Jesbra asked, her newly blind eyes staring straight ahead.

"Rix needed a distraction to take up our time while he made last minute preparations. And if the Council sent another Jedi team instead he could plant evidence to send them off on a wild, dead-end chase," Nerca answered. "He already had some of his Mettranaloovye infiltrate the Uunjaian government, so he knew about the connection to Tonuu and Verdin. He knew Verdin was devastated and that Tonuu would go out and try to get help. Niam was a probable place for Tonuu to go, so he infiltrated that government as well."

All of them nodded, but Lexoc could see a shift in Oliso's face. An unwillingness to let something continue but also an unwillingness to expose it. "What is it?" she asked Oliso.

Oliso bit her lip, shook her head, closed her eyes and visibly braced herself. "Nerca didn't tell you the whole truth."

Lexoc frowned.

Jesbra let out a slight gasp.

Keldu's eyes flicked to Nerca.

Nerca's sense changed.

"About what?" Keldu asked cautiously as she leaned forward.

"About the Mettranaloovye," Oliso answered, throwing a glance in Nerca's direction.

Lexoc was about to demand that such accusations were absurd, but by the way Nerca uncrossed her legs and her head leaned down that it was the truth. She was about to ask why when Nerca spoke.

"The Mettranaloovye illness doesn't only extend to you, Lexoc and Jesbra. It extends to me as well." So Nerca was sick as well. But for her to be confessing it now meant her disease had to be … "That's right. My illness isn't temporary like yours. Mine is permanent and terminal. Or it was supposed to be."

Nerca sighed deeply. "The Mettranaloovye sewed a sickness into my skin, in the form of a winding tower of fire with a rose on it. But unfortunately that rose is no ordinary rose. In the picture it is being eaten by something toxic, and again unfortunately it isn't normal either. It is only symbolic of what it will do. It will decay the one whose skin it is sewn into and eventually bring their end. At least it's supposed to. My Master and I defeated the majority of it long ago, but to this day I still face some problems. That's the real reason Oliso knows."

For the longest time every one was silent, and finally when Lexoc broke the silence, she spoke so very softly. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because if I did, you'd look down on me because you knew I was ill."

Again there was silence.

"What are we going to do about Rix?" Jesbra asked after what had seemed like an eternity.

"We can't chase him," Nerca said. "He and Llanef made a clean hyperspace jump."

"He's gone, but not for long," Oliso said softly. "He will come after us again."

"But that time, we won't be battling an unseen adversary," Lexoc reminded them.

Keldu nodded. "We succeeded in finding Anicaa's murderer. We just didn't succeed in catching him yet. And my vision didn't come true. That in itself is an ease to part of my worries."

Yes, Lexoc was glad that there hadn't been a loss to the light too.

This mission was over, but there were many more to come. Many more victories and losses, more trials and tribulations, more hopes and joys, more sorrows and despairs.

The future was always in motion, as Master Yoda so often said. Always changing.

Sometimes she could help what was coming; sometimes she couldn't. But she knew one thing about the future for sure: it would be the course the Force set.

And all she could really do was wander along it.