Shadows of Heroines and Heroes
-- Manaan --
"Manaan…! Why Manaan? I mean, out of all the places we could have gone, we had to go to Manaan!" Kail could be heard complaining to Padme as she closed her eyes and sighed again.
"Because we need more kolto and Alison decided to come here. Now shut up, Kail, I want to sleep!"
"But what about her being the only one able to control the ship; except for the droids…? Mind you, we've got the basic stuff like lights, food and water, and the guns, but no flight controls, nothing else!"
"Just as well you're not flying," Padme muttered under her breathe as Kail continued to complain to her. She shunted his voice out of her thoughts and settled herself more comfortably into the bed, as comfortable as she could get right now.
Kail did have a point though, with Alison being able to control everything if and when and she desired to…
"Hey, guys, we're going to be landing in a moment or two, but if you guys need anything just give us a call, okay?" Kevin popped his head in the med bay for a moment before he left to make his daily visit to Rain.
Rick had only raised his hand to knock when the door to the communications' room whooshed open and stayed like that for a moment before he stepped inside, it shut just as quickly behind him. His glaze was immediately drawn over to Alison as she seemed to dwarf everything in the room.
"We've-"
"Landed, I know." Alison frowned and cut Rick off as she stared at the datapad in her hands. "Rick, if I ask you to help me with anything, would you? Even if you didn't know what it was that I needed from you?"
"Can I take the I-don't-know answer?" Rick asked trying to joke his way out of the tight corner; Alison had backed him into with her sharp words and crystal like manner.
"No."
"Then I'd guess I'd have to be there to help you nothing more, nothing less."
Alison turned to regard Rick and there was a hint of a challenge in her eyes.
"You ride swoop bikes at all?"
"I'm not bad." Rick laughed as he realized what Alison was hinting at. "There is no way, sister! You couldn't beat me on a swoop bike. Not once in a million years!"
Alison merely smiled and walked closer until they were an inch apart, leaning up on her toes to look into his face. Her lips brushed his and he reached out automatically to take hold of her, tilting his head down to kiss her when…
"I thought I was more than a friend to you, Ordo."
Alison slapped him hard and drove her knee into his groin, before she left, a hint of darkness swirling around her.
"The race starts in an hour, get to the track and we'll see who's better." Alison called darkly over her shoulder as Rick glared at Alison's departing back.
"I'll get you, Stareth, just you wait." Mical watched as the young girl storm away from the ship and the young boy race after her, grasping her by her arm, speaking rapidly in apparently angry tones.
He grinned and walked away, the robes of an ambassador trailing around his ankles. She was going to suffer, her and that lover of hers.
They would all suffer…
"Alison, stop now and save your pride. You know I'm going to win in the swoop race." Rick grinned expectantly at the girl's back as she talked to the port official and 'persuaded' him to let them go without paying any docking fee.
"You are so going down." Alison shot back, no humour in her voice as she glared at Rick and walked towards the Republic Embassy.
"Why's that?" Rick asked, running slightly to catch up to her as she walked quickly down the street. "Damn she can walk fast!" Rick thought as he matched her pace.
"You've never looked at the swoop track scores have you?" Alison asked, a smile on her face now as Rick shook his head.
"HK, recite to me, the track scores of the races recorded in your database."
"Ah! Where did they come from?" Rick jumped as he noticed HK and JAINA standing behind them, silently.
"Disgruntled reply: We followed you off the ship, meatbag Master." Alison nodded in agreement.
"HK, the records please?"
"Proud statement: Certainly Master Alison…"
Alison started to laugh as she watched Rick's face struggle to keep his cool as the list of scores was recited.
"Well I'll still win against you anyways." Rick shrugged as she pulled him, still laughing into the Republic Embassy.
Roland Wann was no longer the Republic's head embassy leader on Manaan though his nephew called on him regularly for help via comm. Not that his Uncle faulted him for that. Manaan was a tough place to reside in when you were the Embassy leader.
So when young Phillips called him today asking his Uncle if he'd come to the Embassy personally this time to help with some rather strange visitors, he had been intrigued and agreed to the summons. Now, Roland Wann wished he hadn't.
He recognized the two visitors and there was going to be hell loosed upon Manaan when they went touring.
"Uncle Roland!" Phillip greeted his Uncle rather hurriedly as he hauled him into his office and knocked off a quick salute, and gave his uncle a hug as well before he started to pace.
"You've got to help me! There's two Jedi Masters out there and they want to speak to me! ME! I don't know how to handle Jedi. We're stretched as poorly as it is right now, with the business of the kolto and the kidnappings…"
"Kid, sit down before you pop a brain vessel and listen to me." Roland sighed as his high-strung nephew basically collapsed onto a couch and stared wide-eyed at his uncle, hands fidgeting still.
Alison sat on the bench as Rick stood besides her, leaning against the wall as they waited for the Republic Embassy officer to come back out of his office.
"I think you scared him away, Rick." Alison nudged her companion besides her with a grin on her face as she crossed her legs and stared up at him.
"What me?" Rick shook his head, completely serious. "You just had to bat your eyes at him and he was off like a gundrak fried by a lightsaber."
"Me?" Alison arched an eyebrow. "You were the one scowling every time anyone did as much as glance at my face."
"I did not!" Rick snorted and crossed his arms over his chest as Alison stood up and looked straight into his eyes.
"You're jealous of me." She whispered softly, staring as though she had never seen him before.
Rick brought his arms up to guard himself just in case it turned out to be the same thing that had happened on the Hawk' earlier during the day.
"I-" Rick did not finish his sentence as the door to the Embassy's office opened suddenly and the two teenagers flew apart guilty. Alison had a hint of a smile on her face, while Rick was slightly blushing as they greeted the two officers and followed them into the office.
"Now, Jedi Masters, how may we help you?"
Phillip's voice was a bit squeaky and his hands shook as he clasped them behind his back, his eyes boring into Alison's intently as his Uncle watched the three youths and sighed mentally.
"This is going to be disastrous." He thought disparagingly.
Alison inclined her head towards the officers.
"We've just arrived here on Manaan and some of our crew are gravely injured. They're aboard our ship right now, but we need to stock up on some kolto and other various supplies before we could possibly leave."
"Oh no, they're going to ask for the whole damned planet before they leave here." Roland thought, sinking futher into despair as the young girl glanced at him curiously before returning her attention back to his nephew.
Rick nodded and jumped in. "And with the limited medical care we're able to supply, they need to be moved to a medical facility as soon as possible, as we do wish for them to live."
"I'm sure we could manage that, though for the kolto, you'd have to talk the Selkath Council. But I'll arrange an appointment for you, if you wish, Jedi Masters-" Phillip trailed off respectively as he waited for Alison and Rick's last name.
Alison smiled and winked at Phillip. "It's Stareth and Shan Ordo." She pulled Rick out of the room as Roland Wann sputtered and coughed as Phillip flopped down into his chair with a happy look on his face.
"I think I'm in love, Uncle."
"You think you're in love with Stareth's daughter, Phillip? You're insane, Phillips, totally insane." Roland rubbed his forehead as he hauled out a bottle of strong spirits. "She just had to go and get married and have a daughter, didn't she?"
"Who had to go get married, Uncle?" Phillips sat up, confusion on his face as he stared concernedly at his Uncle.
"You remember that story about the issue with the kolto I use to tell you about when you where younger?" Roland continued his narrative not letting his nephew answer. "That was that Jedi's daughter just now."
"Oh," Phillip still had that dreamy look on his face as his Uncle went on talking, "she's very nice looking, Uncle."
"Boys!" Roland growled under his breath as he watched the two youths walk out of the embassy on the security camera.
The girl turned to wave and wink at the camera, as she walked off towards the race track with her companion trailing her.
"Bloody Jedi!" Roland growled as he threw his glass away and grabbed the bottle out. "It's never going to end, is it?"
Phillip looked up asbently at his Uncle, "what's never going to end
"Look! It can't cost that much to race on the track, just because we're new-timers! We even have our own swoops!" Alison tapped her foot as she argued with the Selkath race official who shook his head.
"You both must pay the price specified or no race."
After five more minutes of arguing, Alison and Rick were allowed to join the racers in the racing lounge, where a bunch of other riders where dressed and waiting.
A runner came in just as Alison and Rick had finished suiting up, both discarding their robes and over tunics, for sleeveless shirts.
"The race is to be post-phoned until tomorrow and all riders will be required to attend the banquet and either dance with another race or bring a partner.
"What did he say?" Rick hissed into Alison's ear as he leaned down. "This is supposed to be a simple racing matter, not a dance and dinner as well." Alison giggled.
"Oh come off it, it'll be fun to go to a dance and it'll be good to relax anyways." Rick gave her a blank look.
"You… relax? Since when did the world fall apart?" Alison punched him lightly on the shoulder as she glared at him.
"Har, har, Rick, I just hope you have something good to wear to the dance or else." She left him, humming an old tune as she walked out of the room.
Rick rolled his eyes and ground his teeth as he heard her shout his name once. He struggled into his clothes again, and then he heard Alison call out again. Expect this time she screamed and her scream, her voice echoed throughout the room and his mind.
Something was wrong.
Kevin and Rain met Rick and Alison as they left the courtroom and looked expectantly at the two teens and the killer droids standing off silently to the side.
Rick sighed.
"How did our parents ever deal with those Judges?" Alison rolled her eyes.
"My mom did and your mom stood besides her with whoever else was there at the time."
Kevin chuckled as Rick ground his teeth and looked straight ahead.
"Hey come off it, Ali – your mother got thrown into jail all the time when she was here, remember?"
"That's because she was helping the greater good at the time, and she didn't clear her actions with the Judges beforehand, not that she should have though."
Rain shook her head at her boyfriend in all but name and looked over at Alison and mouthed a word at her friend. Alison nodded and rolled her eyes,
"So right, Rain, just so right."
Rick and Kevin shrugged as Rick continued to go on.
"The first judge ummm, what was his name, Ali?"
Alison almost ploughed into Rick, when he used her nickname and worked her mouth soundlessly for a second, before she sputtered out.
"Judge Shelkar. He was all for the kolto licensing for the Ebon Hawk considering they're indebted to my mother. And Judge Jhosa, and Judge Kota, they were for it as well…"
"Yes, that's it! And the other two judges, umm…" Rick trailed off again as Alison supplied the other two names, Judges Naleshekan and Duula. "They were against it."
"Well we'll head back to the Hawk then and get Padme and Kail to the med center on Manaan, then." Kevin said as Rain pulled Alison off to the side, just a little ways from the two boys.
"You're okay, now?" She asked, staring hard into Alison's face, searching for a sign of anything.
"Yes, I'm fine." Alison sighed heavily. "Look, I'm sorry for Deralia, Rain, I don't know-"
"It's alright, Ali." Rain shushed her friend. "You weren't responsible for it. I'm not going to holding it against you."
The two girls embraced in a quick hug and then Rain smiled at Alison.
"You like him, don't you?"
"Rick?" Alison asked as Rain nodded and smiled softly. "He's not bad, though sometimes I want to beat him up with how he acts." Rain laughed as Alison shook her head, a sly smile on her face. "You like Kevin too, don't you?"
Rain suddenly looked down at her feet as she crossed her arms,
"Yes, we're both that way, I was going to ask you, but with everything going on and all."
"Hey, it's okay, Rain! Go ahead and date the poor boy." Alison grinned. "You're the perfect match for each other, you know that, right?"
Rick and Kevin watched as the two girls talked to each other neither of them having a clue as to what they were talking about.
"How long do you think they're going to be?" Rick asked.
"No idea, maybe we should go and ask?" Kevin asked.
"Right, you have a death wish or something?"
"No, but Kail and Padme do need to get to the medical center as soon as possible." Kevin said.
"Right, let's get them moving then." Rick said.
"Never mind, they're coming now anyways."
Rick dashed around the corner to see Alison and another man lying in a tangle on the floor, but she had a look of pure terror on her face and the man's face was one of utter hatred.
"Mical!" Rick was over the gathering patrons' heads in a moment and landed by Alison's side in a second, using the Force to throw the Disciple against the wall with a resounding thump.
Rick hauled Alison up, pushing her behind him as he reached for his lightsaber secreted, in an inner pocket of his robe.
"Rick, don't!" Alison whispered shakily in his ear. "The Selkath will lock you and possibly me up. We can't have a fight here on Manaan with him."
"Can't we?" Rick retorted quietly. "Alison, he tried to kill you, you didn't see your mother after you fell off! If my parents hadn't been there, I think she would have killed him."
"I know she would have killed him and so would I! But we can't do this here, not right now!"
Rick clenched his fists as he let go of his lightsaber as Alison pulled him closer into a tight one-sided hug, standing diagonal towards Mical. Her breathing was faster than normal and her skin paler than usual.
He glared at the fallen man as the Disciple looked up at them, with humour in his eyes.
"Scared you, little girl, didn't I? That scream of yours was quite impressive, I must say."
"Watch your mouth, Sith!" Rick snarled, anger twisting his features as he started to call upon the Force.
Mical laughed and drew upon the Force with his own power, letting his aura build as Rick's did too.
"Rick stop it, he's too strong right now! I want to go back to the ship. NOW!" Alison tried to pull her friend away from the rapist Jedi but Rick would not budge an inch as he stared at the Disciple.
"That's right little child." Mical grinned eerily. "Run away like your daddy did, run away like mommy, be the good little child, and hide away. We'll come and find you when we're ready to gut your little precious after I have some fun with her."
This time it was Rick's turn to be scared as Alison's Force Aura erupted in a furry, she made no move to attack the Disciple, she just focused her thoughts on him and Mical began to wilt under her mental attack, both physically and mentally.
"Together." Alison whispered as Rick hauled her out of the racing bar.
"Together what, Alison? Tell me please?" Rick asked, desperate to keep her attention on something else before she did exactly what her mother had nearly done, or worse.
She looked at him strangely for a minute, her face oddly slack and lifeless seemingly. "Together, we are stronger than alone, united we are undefeated, broken and we are vanquished." Alison whispered and folded into his arms like a doll.
"I'm not going to sleep tonight." Rick groaned as he contacted the others on their comlinks.
By the time he had gotten everyone on the comlinks, Alison had recovered enough to tell them all that the Disciple was here and he was going to try and make her suffer and all of those she loved as well.
No one was relaxed after the message had reached through the comlinks. It wasn't a vacation anymore; it was a test of survival and friendship, mingled with love.
Padme stood to go to the bathroom, while Kail slept peacefully, finally, on his bed in the Selkath Med Ward. She was relieved that he was asleep.
He'd been very stressed out since Alison had contaced them, warning them that Disciple was somewhere in Ahto City, and that he was out to hurt Alison in anyway he could. Padme suspected it was because he didn't want her in danger.
As she finished her business and looked into the mirror, her eyes flashed a deep gold and her tattoos darkened for just a moment.
"You needn't worry about me, Kail." She purred. Then she felt a spasm of discomfort go through her body as she was gripped by one of Kail's visions.
Kail opened his eyes to see the Disciple standing with his back to him, with what looked like a holovid in his hand.
The vision was short and fast, but it was enough to reassert Padme's persona over the Sith specters'. She tried to run, but she was still in pain from the stomach wound she'd given herself when she'd tried to heal Kail.
Though he was still severely weakened from the loss of blood, Kail had recovered most of his health back on Deralia when Padme had healed him. Padme, on the other hand, was now trying to heal herself, having opened many of her own wounds while healing Kail with her own life.
Though she'd spent about three hours in the Kolto Tank, the worst wound, the exact same as Kail's old wound, was now wrapped with a Kolto bandager and she still suffered if she tried to move to quickly and to much.
So she walked as fast as she could, and was just in time to see the Disciple, dressed as one of the Republic's doctors, walk somewhat wobbly into the room she and Kail were sharing.
Wishing she hadn't hidden the lightsabers on the Ebon Hawk, Padme crept into the room, not taking her eye off of the Disciple. He obviously hadn't expected her to be right behind him, because he had spent a few moments searching the many pockets of his coat for a vibrodagger, then he knelt next to Kail's bed, hiding, and stared intently at the door.
So Kail wasn't in any danger until someone opened that door. Good, Padme thought.
She guessed that, having lost an ear in his battle against Revan, the Disciple was a little deaf and slightly less agile, so she flicked her finger at the door and it locked with a small click.
Disciple didn't hear it, but Kail did, even in his unconsciousness. His eyes opened wide, and locked onto the Disciple.
Before he could say a thing, the Disciple had clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled something from another pocket in his robes. With a small click, he placed a neural restraint collar around Kail's throat to prevent him from calling upon the Force.
Though he struggled, Kail was still too weak to do anything without the Force, especially when the Disciple put the knife to his throat.
"Too far." Padme thought. She could have allowed him to wait for her to supposedly come back in while she thought for a plan. But she drew the line at threatening her new-unofficial boyfriend.
Despite not being armed and Kail having a knife at his throat, Padme still charged the Disciple, and, having the element of surprise, managed to knock the dagger from his hand.
"I've got you now!" The Disciple now moved his free hand to throw Padme onto the ground and clench her throat tightly with both the Force and his hand.
Seconds later, the door was knocked off its hinges by a first suspicious, now enraged Wookiee, who, upon seeing Kail lying semi-immobile on his bed and Padme on the verge of being strangled by the Disciple, launched herself forward and took hold of him by the throat.
"Padme, get the collar off!" Kail shouted as, remarkably, and frustratingly, the Disciple somehow broke free of Kinraar's grip and Force-pulled the dagger into his hand, and stabbed it into Kinraar's shoulder.
But it was too little, too late.
"I need not both arms to squash you, Mical!" She snarled. She thrust her uninjured arm forward and sent the Disciple flying backward through the air and crashing through the window. She was about to follow him when she heard a groan from Padme and saw blood gushing out of the reopened wound in her stomach.
The loyalty to her friends overcame the battle rage, and Kinraar rushed to Padme's aid as Kail attempted to step out of the bed, only to fall into Kinraar's ready grip as she lifted Padme off the ground.
She gently laid Kail back on his bed, and then Padme in her bed, then rushed to find a medic to help Padme.
In the back of her mind, a single thought haunted her, and left her vulnerable to a spreading darkness. The Disciple was going to pay.
"Perfect…" A voice purred in the confinements of its closed home. "This one will do nicely as well." A brief flash of red and yellow lit the area and faded as laughter echoed whisperingly in the growing darkness.
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