Chapter 24: Conflict
Alison was furious and drained. She watched as Rick and Torne forced the door open. She had been about to trip the door lock so they could just get in, when she saw another alarm go off and focused on that.
It was the health indicator. Alison had wired it to record everyone's current bio status into the computer, so they'd be able to be read as codes. Therefore when an unidentified code came up, Alison was not pleased.
"Computer, identify unknown code." Alison hissed sharply in the Ratakan language as she started at the numbers scrolling across the mini-screen.
"Processing." The mechanized voice replied and was silent for several minutes before the answer was shown.
Species: Human
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6
Home-world: Mykr
Class: Battle Priestess
Force Ability: Battle Meditation
Hair Colour: Red-brown
Eye Colour: Green
"So she's a stowaway from Mykr." Alison drummed her fingers for a moment before she placed the girl's name.
"Hannah…" Alison looked thoughtfully at the face frozen on the screen and smiled dangerously before she pulled the bloodstone out.
"Hannah…"
Hannah jerked as her name was called, raising eyebrows in the room. Rick was berating Kail while Torne merely stood within the doorway. Rain was looking after the now silent girl who seemed shy within the presence of others.
"Hannah, what's the matter?" Rain asked, tilting the girl face up to look into hers.
Hannah shuddered, fear in her eyes as she stared back into Rain's face. "Someone's calling me… they're scaring me… I can't… it's like… death and darkness. I'm so alone…"
Tears fell down the girl's face as Rain rocked the girl back and forth in her arms. She sighed and shook her head.
"Torne, come here for a moment." Rain whispered something into her brother's ear, and he nodded, striding out quickly, calling for Mia as he made his way towards the cockpit.
Alison wasn't happy, Rain knew that; she only hoped Kail, Torne, and Mia had a good explanation.
"Hannah… why did you, come onboard? Why did you leave Mykr?"
Hannah stared off into space and thought back, "leave me alone!"
A predatory grin seemed to light up the darkness around; "we'll talk later, when I call for you. Wouldn't want Kail too miss Padme to much now would you…? Or has he not told you, just' exactly' how much 'fun' they use too have?"
The darkness lifted, and suddenly Kail was in her vision, calling her name worriedly as she tried to speak but felt an oppressive force pushing down on her.
She couldn't keep her eyes from fluttering, even with the Force or her chanting. There was a stronger, darker power at work here.
Kail growled as Hannah slipped into the comma and turned to face the door where Rick and Kevin stood blocking it.
"Let. Me. Through." Kail forced out as he stood there, a whirlwind of power rising.
For a moment it looked like the three boys would come to blows, but then they parted and Kail stormed towards Alison's location in the communications office.
If Alison couldn't control the monster she had forced out, then they were all doomed.
Alison sat back and thought about her mental attack on Hannah. Truly it hadn't been made to present an evil figure, just a very well hidden intensive probing into the girl's life, history, strength, weakness, all the above and beyond that…
"ABCDs. Dreadful are they not?"
Alison laughed out-loud, as she faced her translucent sister standing besides her. "Above and beyond the call of duty, Karigan. So tell me, Kari, why did you make the pact?"
Karigan sighed, "It's complicated to understand." She shrugged, "I wanted knowledge, power… and I wanted to be more." She paused for a minute, "and with my father, since mother was 'unavailable' after a time."
"Don't you ever get mad that Malak tried to kill our mother?" Alison asked, staring at her sister who nodded.
"Sometimes, I do… but then I also remember him before everything else and I love my father. Besides, it turned out for the best in a fashion." Kari smiled sadly, "though I can only say that since I 'never' went through what Mother did."
Alison nodded slowly, "indeed… Did either Mother or Malak ever discover why you became a Force Spirit, or how for that matter?"
Kari sighed, "no, they worked for a while trying to find out why and then stopped. If they did, then they never told me. I think they where resigned to the fact, I enjoyed this form as much as being solid."
Alison nodded thoughtfully, "you can clear off, if you'd rather not face Kail with me."
Kari shook her head, "no you're with child. I'll stay, 'just' in case."
Kail brushed past Torne and Mia who didn't stop him as they stood guard at the door into the communications office. Neither said anything, though Torne would have dearly loved to drum some sense into Kail.
Mia and Alison had forbidden interaction. Ali hadn't been pleased that they had smuggled Hannah aboard either. Torne shrugged to himself; he wondered how Rick would react when he found out that he was going to be a father.
Alison was sitting in her chair, reading the display charts scrolling across her screens but she turned around when he cleared his throat or rather growled out a greeting.
"You hurt her, scared her beyond necessary!" Kail accused, pointing his finger at Alison who stood up slowly.
She sighed, her expression sadden as she looked at Kail, unaware of the shadowing mirroring him. "What about Padme? She died in the battle, you forgot about her pretty fast, Kail. What about your love for her?"
Kail turned red and clenched his fists; "Padme is dead! What I felt for her no longer-!"
"No longer what matters? Kail, she loved you and you loved her!" Alison glared at the younger youth, "she may have died on Mykr but her spirit joined the Force! She still lives!"
"I loved her. I still do… I… I'm just trying to figure everything out right now." Kail felt the tears streaming down his face.
"She's not alive anymore; they placed her in the burial chambers and dressed her up for her tomb. Padme is gone, and I still love her; she won't ever come back by some miracle… it'd be impossible. Only the Sith would possibly be able to resurrect a zombie in her body!"
Alison glared at the fifteen year old boy, but something in her expression softened, "I know what it is like to lose a loved one, Kail."
Kail looked away, "what would you know of loving a dead one?"
Alison looked into his eyes, "I lost a husband and son to the Sith, leaving Mykr once before Kail, I know what its like." Kail stared wide-eyed at Alison as she sighed, "Hannah may stay on this ship but she pulls and proves her weight. I only need to push a button or pull a trigger to rid any pests."
Kail closed in the distance until he was inches from Alison, "you wouldn't dare."
Alison smiled back, a hardness that Kail could not match in her eyes, "try me; I'll go to whatever length I must to protect all of us. You'll regret it, trust me."
For a moment it looked like Kail was going to strike Alison out of rage when several things happened at once.
Rick, Mia, and Torne burst into the room, their lightsabers blazing and ready for action, levelled at Kail. Kari moved from her silent seat and placed her hand on Kail's shoulder.
It was icy cold as he tried to jerk away from her grasp; "don't do this Kail. Let it go and flow out of you."
"Let… go… of… me…" Kail gasped as the life-force slowly drained out of him from Kari's icy cold touch.
Kari ignored him, "Alison wake Hannah out of her comma and I'll release Kail if he promises to behave."
Kail nodded, though whether that was because of his weakened state or agreement was questionable. Alison closed her eyes and opened them, "she's awakening now." And Kail left as Kari followed him to make sure nothing 'dangerous' happened.
Rick clipped his lightsaber to his belt and crushed Alison into his arms "Thank the Force, your sister was here to stop him."
Alison didn't say a word as she trembled in her boyfriend's arm, glad that it was all over. She hadn't been scared for herself, but for their child…
She had never been so scared in her life…
"Yes, Rick, thank the Force… I'm all right." Alison whispered as the ship's computer landed them onto Dathomir.