Chapter Thirteen: Ain't got time to take a fast train
"Give me a ticket for an aeroplane,
ain't got time to take a fast train.
Lonely days are gone, I'm a'goin' home,
My baby just wrote me a letter."
The Box Tops, "The Letter"
Yavin IV, Sith Temple Remains
To the superficial observer, the small droid aboard the Moon Shadow looked like it was deactivated totally. But those who had boarded the Moon Shadow and taken away his Master had obviously not thought him important at all so they had indeed deactivated him and let him stay on the ship. But none of those air breathers had known that one of his previous masters – even one before Revan – had programmed a hidden timer into his core. Once T3 was deactivated without entering certain codes into his interface and wasn't reactivated after a certain amount of time, the timer would set itself to exactly 24 hours. It then would start a chain reaction in T3's circuits that would lead to T3 activating himself again.
Now the activation was three hours ago, and as soon as T3 had been able to scan his surroundings he had found out that he was alone on the ship. The ramp was closed, and all lights had been put out. The complete ship was totally powered down. But he was alone, and that was all that counted. Whoever had taken away his Master he knew had not been a friend. His analysis of her behavior shortly before and during the boarding had told him as much. T3 also knew from taking a look out the cockpit windows that he would not be able to free her himself. He had seen two of those white-haired air breathers that had taken the Master away, and the fact that she had yielded so fast, but yet unwilling told him that those being were none to be taken lightly.
And so a plan had been forming in the little droid's circuits. He needed to find a way to sneak a communication signal to the Ebon Hawk without tipping off their captors that he was active. That meant he needed to send it without using so much power that the would notice the Shadow powering up. He had taken his time with calculating and playing through scenarios, and in the end he had found a way to do it. He would send a low frequency signal coded in the slang language he used to communicate with the Hawk's computers. All that would register on the sensors of their captors would be a signal that looked like random piece of electromagnetic junk. He just hoped that Bao-Dur would recognize the signal once the Hawk received it.
Deep Space, Ebon Hawk, Garage Ebon Hawk
"Bao-Dur? Could you… do me a favor?"
The Zabrak turned around from the work he had been doing to see Visas Marr standing behind him. "Sure. What can I do for you?"
As always, the Miraluka was a little shy. At first Bao-Dur had been a bit intimidated about this, thinking that she was resenting him in some way or thinking him lower than her because his Jedi abilities were not half as developed as hers but than he had found out that she just didn't really know how to be around people.
"I wondered if you could build another one like your little droid."
"Another remote?" She nodded. He now turned fully, setting aside the spare part for the damaged HK-droid that was standing in the main hold. Well, another remote. Sure, he could do it. Question was if he wanted. He was a bit ashamed to admit it, but he had come to like the little droid that had sacrificed itself on Malachor V for the general. It had been his constant companion on his travels, and it had kept the loneliness away from him. Since its destruction he had always felt a little beside himself. Building another one would feel like… betraying his first one.
"I can see that you are uncomfortable with my request. I am sorry for asking you. I should have considered your attachment to your last one. Please forgive me my unthinking intrusion." Visas was already turning around, but the ashamed tone of her voice made him call her back.
"No, Visas, it's okay. You couldn't have known that, and maybe I just should… get over the old remote. It was just a droid after all."
Visas could very clearly feel that Bao-Dur wasn't as indifferent as he claimed. Indeed his remote had obviously been a lot more to him than "just a droid after all". But she could also feel that he didn't want to disappoint her. Still lacking experience in how to act around other people, it surprised her. "Oh no, I think it was a friend to you. And asking if you could built another one was very inconsiderate of me. Please forgive me."
He smiled at her. "No, really, it's okay, Visas. Stop apologizing. I'm a lot more interested as to why you need such a droid." And he really was curios. What would Visas of all people need a remote for?
"Thank you for your interest. I have studied some of the recordings that T3 has brought with him from the academy on Telos, and I saw that the Jedi used remotes as means to train their padawans's light saber fighting skills. They would blind-fold their students and have the droids fire weak laser shots at them which the students had to deflect. Seeing as we only have the means to train light saber duels so far, I thought we might need more practice in deflecting blaster beams." Visas sounded a little insecure, as if she wasn't fully convinced that her idea was indeed a good one, but Bao-Dur instantly knew it was. He beamed at her.
"I very much see why you need a remote indeed. And I think I have just the right spare parts here. Just give me two or three hours, and you'll have your training remote." The Miraluka smiled, something that still was a rare occurrence on the Ebon Hawk. Bao-Dur suddenly found himself wishing she'd do it a lot more.
"I thank you so much. You have really helped me." The smile faded, and suddenly Visas looked a little weary to him.
"You're welcome. And Visas?"
She cocked her head a little to the side. "Yes?"
He cleared his throat. "Uh… you should take a little time out. You're looking a little stressed, and it would be a shame if you'd overdo yourself training us all. You really should take a break."
She looked a little surprised. "I… thank you for your concern. I will consider your advice."
He nodded. "Do that. You really could use it."
A little awkwardly she thanked him again and then told him she'd leave him alone so that he could begin his work on the remote. Just as she was about to leave and he wanted to start looking through his spare parts, Mira's voice rang over the ship's loudspeaker system. "Someone who knows the Hawk's computer better than I come to the cockpit. Something really weird just came in."
"Well, I guess that's me. Sorry, Visas, but seems your remote has to wait a little." She bowed her head.
"I understand. Go and help the huntress." And with that he was off to the cockpit.
Main Hold
"Gee, what's the commotion about, huh?" A clearly disheveled Atton strutted in through the door leaving to the dormitories. He was combing his hands through his unruly hair and overall looking like he just came out of bed.
"Something that'll interest you, flyboy.", Mira said, and waved at Bao-Dur at Atton's raised eyebrow.
The Zabrak understood the wink and started to explain. "Half an hour ago, the Ebon Hawk's navicomputer received a low frequency signal with a message in a very weird dialect. It was disguised as a random piece of electromagnetic radiation, but the computer picked it up and insisted on playing it over and over again. We couldn't make anything of it until I remembered that T3 and the navicomputer used to communicate with each other in a very crude slang." As soon as Atton had heard the word "T3", he was fully awake. T3 had left together with Né, and if the message was in a dialect only T3 used…
"Absolutely, Atton. The message is from T3.", Bao-Dur said with just the hint of a smirk. Am I that easy to read, huh?
"So, what did he say?" It came out a little more eager than Atton had it intended to. Knowing looks were passed between the rest and he grumbled something like "I saw that, people. Don't think I don't know you've labeled me thelovesick idiot for good.", but the rest chose to ignore it.
"I wasn't able to decipher the whole message, but what I got was that he said he was on a planet called Yavin IV." Was he hallucinating or had Visas winced at the name of the planet?
"Yeah, well, what are we waiting for? Where are the coordinates of that planet? Why aren't we already in hyper space? Mira?" She had been the pilot on duty, so he was addressing her.
But she just made an evasive gesture and said: "Look, Atton, it's not as easy as that…"
His fist landed on the rim of the star map projector. "Not as easy as that? What's so difficult about typing in some coordinates and pulling a lever?" His temper was again getting the better of him, but it was pretty difficult to reign yourself in when the way to the one you loved was suddenly opened and others were keeping you back. Especially when you had just woken up from one of the worst nightmares you ever had and which had included a lot of pain for said loved one.
Mira was tempted to take a step back, but by now she knew Atton's occasional bouts of hotbloodedness. It was becoming easier not to be frightened anymore, even if she absolutely didn't like the cold glint that always appeared in his eyes when he was really agitated. But before she could say anything, Mical stepped between her and Atton. "You let her alone. She did nothing to justify your rage, and it's not a Jedi's way to act like that."
"I bloody don't care what's a Jedi's way and what isn't. She's skin deep in danger, we know where she is and we're still wasting our time here. What's the matter with you people?"
Before Mical could retort anything, Visas spoke up: "It is as the huntress said. Yavin IV was the stronghold of one of the mightiest Sith Lords in recent history, Exar Kun. It is full of life, and full of dark energy, and it is dangerous landing there. The dark energies most probably fuel Atris' and her companions' hate and make them stronger with every day they are living there." Atton wanted to speak up again, but Visas' hand stopped him. "We cannot go there in haste. We are in grave danger there, and stronger Jedi have fallen to the call of Yavin IV's dark energy. Before we go there, we need a plan."
The restlessness in Atton was becoming more and more apparent, and Visas saw the alarming dark smudges on his aura moving more vivid with every minute. She would have to take him to meditate as fast as possible, or she was in danger of failing not only Né but all of the crew. If Atton fell to the dark side, it was at least partly her fault.
"A plan, huh? Well, I'm more of the "Blast 'em away!"-type of guys, but if that's what the majority here's thinking…" Atton took a look around, and all of them were nodding, all of them seeming a little anxious of his final decision. "Fine… but I'll give us two days. If by then the plan's not ready, we're going to Yavin IV without one. Any objections?" None of them wanted to know what happened if they said no, and besides all of them were eager to get their friend back. The crew nodded. Atton nodded. "Great. See you all again one hour."
With that Mira, Bao-Dur and Mandalore made their way to their respective stations, but as Mical was about to go after Mira, Atton cleared his throat at him. The Disciple turned around again. "What do you want from me?"
"Just want to know if you already talked to her, pretty boy." For a moment, Mical was tempted to ask innocently who Atton meant, but after a look in the pilot's eyes it was clear that he didn't except any excuses.
Unfortunately, this day happened to be one of those where Mical found himself to be more than the meek scholar he used to be. "That's none of your business, flyboy."
Atton walked up to him, and stopped himself shortly before taking him by his collar. "Yes, it is. Mira's my friend, and if you do anything to hurt her, then so help me." This time Mical, too, saw the cold glint in Atton's eyes, and something told him that there was more to this man than just your average space scoundrel. It gave him the creeps.
"I won't, I'll give you my word. Now let me go. I need to talk to someone." With that he brushed past Atton, happy to have escaped those eyes for the time being.
Now it was only Atton and Visas, and Atton knew what was about to come. But Visas surprised him. "I will not chastise you, for I can see your pain in your aura. Everyone of us makes mistakes when they are afraid to lose someone they hold dear. But we need to train your focus. Once we are on Yavin IV, we all are in grave danger of being lured to the dark side. Your temper and your dedication to Neeneá make you very vulnerable. You do not want to fail her, do you?" Little manipulative bitch of a Jedi, that's what you are., Atton thought a little bitter, but he also saw the truth in her words. Resigned he hung his head for a moment.
"No. I see your point, really, I do. But I just… I'm not very good at this whole Jedi stuff. I guess, I'll never be as good as any of you. Even Mira's better than me and doesn't even try very hard."
The Miraluka smiled. "Ah, but only because she has finally accepted what she is. You have yet to accept your calling and the destiny that comes with it. But also the strength. Tell me, Atton: are you afraid of your powers?"
He ran a hand over his face. "Afraid? No, I'm not. " And that was the truth. Visas could feel it. "But I'm afraid of… falling again. I fell once, and I feel like I'm… tainted." He couldn't believe that he was telling her that. What was it with him and Jedi women and confessions? "I feel like I'm…"
"Not good enough for her. Is it that which you are afraid of?" Since when had Visas lost her shyness with people?
"Yes. Yes, that's it. She's so… pure. And I'm…I'm constantly putting her in danger to fall as deep as I fell."
Visas took a step toward him and did something she had never done before: she touched his arm lightly in a comforting gesture. "Do not worry. She is not pure, and she knows it very well. Remember, in the war she has killed thousands of people, and it was this which made her what Kreia called "a wound in the Force". The echoes of the deaths she caused will forever follow her, and she knows it. And that is why she left. She thought that being together with us would someday result in us being tainted like her."
He shook his head, disbelieving. "But she's not tainting us."
Visas sighed. "Not at the moment, no. But you said so yourself: once she falls, we all fall. If we do not keep in mind that the bond is two-way. If she can redeem us through the bond, then we can do the same for her. Do you now see why we need to take our time before finally setting off for Yavin IV?"
He needed to take a moment to grasp everything she had told him. And it finally made sense to him. All her talk of "leaving to protect you" now became totally clear. At first he had thought that she meant that if Atris got one of them, she would use him or her to make Né fall, but what she really meant was that her fear of failing and her vulnerability because of her bond to them made herself an easy target of the dark side. She had thought that by keeping a distance between them, she could minimize the danger for them to fall.
"You stupid, stupid girl. You damn stupid and stubborn Jedi bitch. You and your bloody self-sacrificing act. How could you?" His comm hit the wall, and suddenly he was sitting on his knees, just inches away from actually sobbing.
Visas crouched down beside him. "Do not worry. We will find her. I promise it to you. But we need to work on your focus. You need to learn how to channel what she means to you. There might come a time where you have to tell her not in words, but in the Force."
He looked up to her, regaining his composure. "You know, Vi, when this is over and we all survive it… remember me not to let her get away ever again. And to get you a state of the art new meditation chamber on Dantooine."
The Miraluka smiled. "Prepare yourself for your first lesson. You all surviving would be the greatest gift you could make me." With that she stood up again, leaving him behind, slightly flabbergasted.
He stayed there on the ground for one more moment, then got up. As he was about to head to the cockpit, the sound of naked feet padding on the deck plating made him turn around. A sleepy Adana stood in the doorway. "What's happening?", she asked, toying with one of her tousled strands.
He walked over to her and ruffling her hair a bit he said: "T3 sent our navicomputer a hello. Seems he needs the cavalry."
The girl's eyes lit up. "We're going to get her?"
Atton crouched down, hoping his voice wouldn't sound as choked as he feared it to be. "Yeah. We're gonna bring her home. Wherever that is."
The girl sniffed a little, and he feared she was starting to cry again, but this time she managed to stay the brave little girl. "My mum always said: home is where your heart is."
A/N: Wheee, new chapter! Finally being among the working populace seems to become me ;) Anyway, I think I'm rellay getting forward with this story, though I fear it's still getting darker.
As always thank you all for your reviews. And for adding me either to your favs or your author alerts (this story's now the highest ranking on my stats table in that regard :D) :)
SilverSentinal21 - Again thank you very much for your elaborate review. Nice to hear that you liked my e-mail :) As for where Adana will stay after the end of this story, I haven't quite decided yet (seeing that I'm already thinking of a sequel), so we'll see. And I wish I could play KotOR1, but at the moment the only computer I have at home is my Methuselah of a laptop (its got more than four years onits back already), and its health is declining pretty rapidely now. So, I have to wait until I get home to my parents anyway.
bunny1kenobi - Um... will you hurt me when I tell you that we still have a long way to go till the Atton/Exile-reunion:hides behind her desk:
Wyvern Ryder - Thank you for your enthusiastic review :)
Purduegirl - Well, in the game I never managed to repair HK-47 and I always found him hard to write since he's usually acting as a kind of comic relief. I'm not very good with humor writing, so I figured leaving him out was better than spoiling the story with bad attempts at humor.
Amme Moto - Let's see, maybe I got something in store for old Vrooky still ;)
Lady of Arrakis - I just hope I don't lose this track of the story (the M&M one), since it does open some nice possibilities.