Chameleon
"Lady Añaa Geiv Ulkin," the Crimelord drawled.
"Crimelord," the Lady answered. She looked on the person in front of her, watching as the Crimelord paid rapt attention to two large creatures set by the throne rather than the guest herself. The Crimelord's pets mewled as they were pet and fed but growled fiercely and snarled their great teeth if anyone dared to approach the throne. They were very large, the two of them, with cruel yellow eyes and dark spotted fur that prickled along their spines when they grew angry. Standing as tall as a man's waist with long snouts full of razor sharp teeth, they were quite a frightening pair. Añaa was surprised that they could be tamed as pets for they seemed far more like the wild hounds of Dantooine then anything else. And, yet, she had never set her eyes on the species before.
Tearing her gaze from the two hounds, Añaa once again looked upon the Crimelord.
"You summoned me here, Great One, and I came as quickly as I could but you have yet to tell me of my purpose."
The Crimelord put up one long hand to silence the Lady. Looking up from the hounds, the Crimelord seemed to watch Añaa without seeing her.
"In due time, my friend. These things cannot be rushed."
"If I am away from my post on Tatooine for much longer than the Senate will start to inquire into my prolonged absence and there are chances, while slim, that they could follow me here."
"Here?" The Crimelord blinked once and seemed to look through the Lady. Añaa had her doubts that the Crimelord's unnaturally green eyes could see her, if anything at all. No, the one on the throne seemed to have a sight beyond that of a normal being. The Lady nearly jumped as the Crimelord started to speak. "I certainly hope that you do not have any incriminating evidence on your estate that would lead the New Republic to me, dear friend."
"Of course not, Master."
The Crimelord nodded and turned once again to the hounds. The throne room was silent.
After a long while, the Crimelord turned to the Lady and gestured someone forward. That someone stopped in the shadows, their face concealed, and did not move further.
"You and I have common interests, my friend. We both thrive for the hunt and we both love to see justice done to those who deserve it." These words came slow, calculated. "We also both seek someone who has done us wrong and wish to see that someone suffer for all of her evil doings."
A cruel smile shaped the Lady's lips. "I believe I know the one you speak of."
"Keilana? Yes, my friend."
The Crimelord fell silent and Añaa bristled with anger.
"Did you bring me here for a reason beyond to establish that we hunt the same woman?"
"All in due time." The Crimelord's words came calmly but with a cool undertone that the Lady could not mistake. She calmed herself down and waited for the Crimelord to continue.
"You see," the Crimelord started. "I have the means to track her down perfectly well on my own, but it comes at a cost. Certain mercenary friends that I have hired are asking for far more than they have in the past because of certain…complications. And while I have the wealth as well, there is compensation that my friends have requested, and this is where you come in."
The Crimelord ran a tongue over dry lips and created a fist to rest under a pointed chin. The other arm rested against spectacular robes of dark red at the Crimelord's side.
"Not only do I request that you help fund this hunt, but that you look into clearing any records pertaining to my helpers. It would do us both a great deal of good in the long run." These last words came slowly and Añaa could hardly find the words to disagree. Yes, what the Crimelord said made sense. She couldn't help but agree.
"Of course, my master, whatever you ask of me and I shall look into it upon my immediate arrival home."
"Excellent, my friend."
"Only… I'll need their names—their true names—to make sure any and all incriminating records against them are cleared. And, Great One, I can do you one better and make sure that your mercenaries have free and complete access to all planets and places they desire in their search for Keilana."
"Very good." The Crimelord looked to the left and beckoned the person there to step forward. From the shadows stepped a thin woman with indigo skin and short black hair slicked out of her face. Her eyes glowed a brilliant yellow that was speckled with purple. Grinning, a mouth full of large, razor sharp teeth was exposed as a delicate prehensile tail whipped about in primal delight. In one hand she held a wooden staff and on her belt, a lightsaber swung silently back and forth.
"I have but one mercenary for you to clear." the Crimelord said slowly. The woman by the throne grinned wider and slashed her tail in anticipation. "Her name is Llewyn du Kiins, formerly of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant."
The transition from hyperspace to real space was rough. Scrimshaw jerked around as if in a strong wind and groaned in complaint as her engines began to fail. It was all Keilana could do to keep her ship heading towards the rust coloured planet in her viewport at the correct entry angle to prevent them from becoming atmospheric dust. Other than distant alarms and the creaks of a protesting ship, everything was silent. Jacen and Jaina sat in the lounge attempting to ignore the fact that ship seemed to be coming apart around them as Kyp sat in the copilot seat to help Keilana control the failing ship.
As she entered atmosphere, Scrimshaw's engines gave out completely. Her nose dipped towards the planet as flames enveloped her hull. They were coming in too steeply. Keilana started to frantically throw switches and pull levers in an attempt to restart the engines. They whined loudly, sputtered to life and died once again. There seemed to be no turning them back on. Keilana swore viciously in Huttese (as it held the only curses strong enough for the situation) and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Kyp asked turning around in his chair to watch her leave. She stopped in the doorway, her hands on the frame, to give him a look over her shoulder. Keilana's dark eyes caught the light of the fire and flashed eerily, her irises and pupils lost in the light.
"To warn the others and to make a last, desperate attempt to save my ship." She turned to leave but paused as she thought of something. Not turning around, Keilana said, "Get to the escape pods, Kyp."
She then left at a sprint. Her footfalls echoed down the passageway and towards the engine room at the rear of the ship. Pulling a panel off the floor, Keilana lowered herself in and started tinkering with the wires and controls found there.
After many agonizingly long moments, she managed to give a little life to the engines. Without bothering to cover the pit, Keilana headed back to the cockpit and strapped herself into her seat. It was not until that point did she dare to look out of the viewport. They were out of the upper layers of the atmosphere and the ground seemed to be rushing up at the ship at an alarming speed.
However, Keilana did not panic. She simply let out a sigh and gripped the controls. Her knuckles started to turn white as she fought both her ship's momentum and gravity to straighten Scrimshaw out and save all those aboard.
Just when it seemed as if she would never be able to pull it off, Keilana gave one last heave and the ship cooperated. It came up to follow the curve of the planet, flying on its side. The canyon they had fallen into was only barely wide enough to accommodate them and they were deep at the bottom of it, far below the surface and level ground. Keilana did not dare attempt to pull up out of the canyon as she was not sure whether or not her ship's engines would hold or support the great weight of her ship enough to lift them to the surface, at least not for the moment. Just thirty more seconds, that was all she needed for the engines to gain a mere half of their power. That was all she could muster out of them.
But she hardly got even that.
When the canyon threatened to become too thin to fly through any longer, Keilana managed to pull out of it. She started to skim the surface of the planet leaving a great cloud dust and debris in her wake. Her eyes scanned the surface as it rushed by looking for a place to land. It didn't take long to find a space big enough. However, as she started to circle back, her engines began to sputter yet again, threatening to die for the final time. Swearing loudly, Keilana hit a button to bring up the intership comm.
"Hold on back there," was all she said.
Pulling the nose of her ship up and turning it on its side, Keilana grit her teeth and turned on the forward thrusters. Scrimshaw gave a great jerk and threw Keilana forward into her crashwebbing, bruising her chest instantly. Her ship then started to spin as half of the main engines died. After a moment, Keilana was able to steady the ship out. She engaged the main hoverlifts and shut off both the front thrusters and the main engines. The Scrimshaw fell the final ten feet to the ground when the thrusters refused to hold her weight for very long. As soon as they were safely on the ground, Keilana let out her breath; she didn't realize that she had been holding it. In fact, she was nearly panting.
Slowly lifting the crashwebbing over her head, Keilana rubbed at the bruises across her chest and stomach as she stood up. Now it was time to face the damage. Lifting a well secured panel and pressing the single button that shut down every system in the ship, Keilana left the cockpit.
When she entered the lounge, the Jedi looked up at her. Great relief was rolling off the three of them in waves.
"I'm going outside," Keilana said, crossing the room to a large locker built into the wall. She pulled out a leather jacket that nearly brushed the floor and a pair of goggles. "There's a storm brewing, but I need to check the damage this little adventure caused." She pulled on a pair of gloves and sighed. "Could the three of you check the ship for any internal damage or breaches?"
Without another word, Keilana flipped up the collar of her jacket and tied a cloth over her mouth and nose to keep out the sand. Fastening the upturned neck as a further guard against the sand, Keilana pulled the goggles down over her eyes and left the lounge without another glance to the Jedi. She lowered the entry ramp and stepped out into the sand storm. Though her goggles had been designed to function in any climate, the sand was nearly too thick to see through. Ducking her head and trailing her gloved hand along the heated belly of her ship, Keilana made her way towards the engines.
However, she never made it that far.
Gripping her head, Keilana fell to her knees as something screamed inside her mind. It felt as if something were trying to tear its way out out of her skull. Gasping painfully, Keilana hunched over and pressed her forehead against the ground, hoping the pain would disappear. Instead, it gave way to something far worse…
Before her, partially obscured by the dust storm, stood a man in Mandalorian armor.
"Dad?" She muttered. Opening her eyes to peer through the sand, Keilana looked up from the ground and the man was gone. He had never been there. She shivered and gripped her head again. There was something about that man that made every fiber of her being burn. He was so familiar and yet, she did not know him.
The wind started to whip with greater fervor around Keilana, howling in her ears. When she tried to stand, she was barely able to make it to her feet and when she did, she struggled against the gale blowing around her.
"Keilana?" Her name came as a bare whisper through the sand. Looking up, Keilana noticed a shadow standing in the hatch, gripping the doorjamb against the wind. It was Jacen.
"I'm here," she answered though hardly loud enough. Her throat was full of sand. Coughing, Keilana gripped the cooling underbelly of her ship and managed to pull herself towards the young man.
"Are you okay?" He asked as Keilana started to shut her ship against the storm. "You disappeared there for a moment."
"I was only a few meters away and the storm isn't that bad yet." Keilana pushed her goggles up into her hair and shook her head, adding to the sand that already covered the floor. She pulled down her collar and tugged the cloth down around her throat. "Though, I think we are in for a rough couple of hours."
"I meant in the Force, Keilana; you flickered out for a moment. What happened out there?"
"Nothing, Jacen."
Jacen gave her a skeptical look and crossed his arms. Keilana furrowed her brow and frowned.
"Fine. I…saw something."
"What?"
"I'm not sure. It wasn't real, at least not in the physical sense."
"Like a vision?"
"I think it was more of a memory," Keilana said slowly. "Though, I've never been here, so it isn't mine." She frowned deeper and turned away from Jacen. "We'll have to wait until this storm is over before even attempting to make any external repairs. I need to do some thinking; I'll be in my cabin."
Sighing, Keilana hesitated before moving down the hall and away from the young man.
Jacen watched as Keilana disappeared around a corner before turning and taking the long way to the lounge. He passed by the room that contained the holding pens and paused, turning to look at them. Stepping over the threshold, Jacen ran a hand over the cool walls of the cages, shivering as he entered the field created by Keilana's sickly ysalamiri. He had taken care of the creature since the mission had started and he could feel it getting stronger only by the way its field had grown. However, he had to be careful, as horrible as it sounded. If the ysalamiri regained its full strength then every single person on the mission would be stripped of their powers every time they were within the body of the ship.
Perhaps that was why Keilana had allowed the creature to grow sickly; she had felt oddly naked within the creature's full range.
Stepping away from the weakened creature and to the opposite side of the large room, Jacen lowered himself to the floor and crossed his legs. Once settled, he slipped his eyes shut and allowed the Force to flow through and around him. He opened his mind and started to think.
However, he didn't get very far before being interrupted.
"I thought I would find you here," Jaina said, "odd as it sounds. Why would you choose a place like this to meditate?"
"Because it's quiet." Jacen did not open his eyes. "Or, at least, it was." He grinned as he slowly lifted his lids. "Can I help you with something, Jaina?"
"I just wanted to…talk."
"Oh?" Jacen rose his brow as he studied his sister. Jaina frowned.
"Don't look so surprised." Jaina moved from the doorway to sit down next to her brother. "Though, I did want to ask you about Keilana…well, talk about her, really."
This did take Jacen by surprise. It was not necessarily the topic that surprised him as much as the fact that Jaina's voice was calm. He turned to look at his sister but she did not meet his gaze; her eyes were locked on the floor.
"I want to apologize for how I've been acting lately."
"You don't have to—"
"No, let me finish." Jaina closed her eyes and was silent for a moment. When she continued, her voice was just above a whisper. "Keilana brings out the worst in me and I'm not exactly sure why. There are times that I do think that I might be able to trust her, but then she'll walk into the room and something goes through me that I just can't explain. It's as if I know subconsciously that there is something more that she is hiding from us. Something big. I can't help it, but that suspicion lurks in my gut whenever she's near. I can't ignore it, Jacen.
"You're right to say that she has a lot of charisma and I think that is the reason why people like her so much. I also think part of her charm comes through the Force itself," Jaina said slowly. She had spent some time thinking about Keilana and this was the conclusion that she had come to. Jaina continued, "and, I think that since she isn't forcing it on anybody, people just can't help but like her. And since she isn't forcing it on us, there's no way we can block it out without knowing what's going on. However, I think that there is a part of me sensitive enough to feel what she's doing—to feel her intrusion—and that it has blocked out her Force-charm. Because it is in many senses an intrusion, a red beckon goes off in my mind warning me that she's up to something, even if she isn't." Jaina held her lower lip between her teeth as if thinking. "I want to trust that she has reformed and that she's given up hunting for good, but every time the thought forms the alarm goes off. And I've learned to listen to my instincts over the years. Often times they are all that save me."
Jaina then fell silent. Her eyes stayed locked on the floor even as she pulled her knees up to her chest.
"They also tend to get you into more trouble than it's worth, Jaina." Jacen had taken to gazing across the room during Jaina's speech and, therefore, did not catch her glare.
Jaina sighed and shook her head slowly. "I also have a weird feeling that this mission is going to turn out to be much more challenging than we originally thought it would be."
Jacen chuckled. "Since when has anything ever gone smoothly for anyone in our family, Jaina? And with two of us…" He simply trailed off with a hand gesture and a shrug. "Well, let's just say that Dad didn't coin the phrase I've got a bad feeling about this for nothing."
"What about Solo Luck, Jacen?"
"I think we cancel each other out in that department. The only thing that seems to multiply is the Solo-ability-to-find-trouble syndrome." He grinned and nudged Jaina with his shoulder. "Don't worry, Jaina, everything will turn out fine in the end, you'll see."
"Just like it always does?" Jaina leaned against Jacen and rested her cheek against his shoulder. Shifting slightly, Jacen wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders and nodded.
"Just like it always does, Jaina."
Several hours after the sandstorm died down, Kyp found Keilana resting on the top of her ship. She was laying on her back on top of the starboard mandible, standing out in the dark against the Scrimshaw's matte black finish. The sky above was alight with millions of stars as shadows in the distance marked the monumental landscape of Geonosis—the mesas, the buttes, and the spire-hives of the natives. Kyp had not beheld such a breathtaking sight in many years.
He stood in awe at the edge of the hatch until Keilana's voice brought him out of his wonder.
"I almost forgot just how many stars you can see at night from the surface of a planet." She crossed her ankles but otherwise remained motionless. "It's been a very long time since I was in the capacity to enjoy such a sight."
"You aren't the only one," Kyp said as he drew nearer to Keilana. Sitting on the cool surface of the ship, he crossed his legs and craned his neck to take in the sky. "I don't know last time I saw more than a dozen stars in the night sky."
Keilana simply sighed in response; she seemed sad. Kyp turned his head to look at her but said nothing. He was pretty sure that he knew the source of her pain but he did not want to prod. After a moment, Keilana took notice of his studying and shifted to meet his gaze. Neither said a thing for the moment.
At length, Kyp turned away and focused on the shadows in the distance.
"You miss Jax," he said.
"Unbearably so," she responded softly. "I've never loved anything as deep as I love him and everyday that goes by without holding him in my arms grinds like something terrible."
"That sounds awful."
Keilana sat up and shook her head. "I just keep telling myself that I'm doing something that will help ensure his future and that's all that keeps me going from day to day."
She pressed her lips together as she brought her knees up to her chest to rest her chin upon.
"Jax makes me realize and miss everything that I didn't have as I grew up. My father took bounties to ensure his financial future with hardly a care for what I needed. I had to fight with whores and Hutts for his attention and I had to prove myself if I wanted food and a place to live. I never had a home beyond a ship that I hated because it represented everything that I despised in my father." Keilana's tone turned harsh the more she spoke of Boba Fett. Kyp flinched. In a younger, much less experienced student he would have banished all thoughts of hatred in an instant, but he wasn't sure how to calm Keilana. Perhaps just letting her talk was the best he could do for the moment.
However, Keilana did not continue to speak on that subject. If she hadn't stood up in sudden alarm, Kyp would have been relieved. As it was, Kyp followed her outstretched finger to a point on the horizon as he too stood up.
"Did you see that?" She asked, not taking her eyes off a large mesa in the distance.
"See what?" Kyp asked, narrowing his eyes as if it would help.
"Three ships just entered the atmosphere before disappearing below the horizon."
Kyp turned to give Keilana a skeptical look. "I think you're just being paranoid, Keilana. I'm sure you just caught the path of a meteor out of the corner of your eye."
She seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking both her head and her finger.
"No, no, I'm pretty sure about what I saw. Meteors don't enter atmosphere in a formation." Keilana turned and headed straight for the top hatch. Before Kyp could catch up, she had already disappeared down the cylindrical tube. Pursing his lips, Kyp turned back to where Keilana had pointed. He couldn't see a thing.
As the wind started to pick up, Kyp narrowed his eyes against the blowing sand and continued to watch the horizon. After a moment of nothing but the howling of the wind and the twinkling of the stars over his head, Kyp was caught off his guard when the whine of ion engines rose above everything else. Keilana had been right.
Not bothering for the elevator to rise, Kyp swung himself down into the shaft and fell the ten feet to the floor, landing squarely on his feet. He stepped out of the elevator only to meet the twins in the hallway.
"What's going on, Kyp?" Jaina asked. Her brow was knit in concern.
"We're about to have some company," Kyp said before motioning for them to follow him. Jacen had an easier time keeping up with the older Jedi than his sister.
"What do you mean?" The young man asked.
"I mean that three ships are heading our way."
Neither of the twins responded and Kyp was glad for it. He had his hunches about where the ships had come from but he wasn't quite ready to voice them as of yet. As soon as the three Jedi reached the outrigger cockpit, Keilana confirmed Kyp's suspicions. Looking up at them, she pointed to three red figures on the display screen.
"Three Phantoms followed us through hyperspace looking to clean my stain from the galaxy once and for all."
"Why'd it take them so long to find us?"
"Well, Solo, there was an entire planet to search and a nasty sandstorm to wait out, that's why. And now that they've pinned down our location, they're coming in to mop up what they started back on Lye."
"Great," Jaina said as she crossed her arms. "What are we going to do?"
"We're not going to sit around and wait for them to dispose of us, that's for sure," Keilana said as she sat down. She motioned for the others to follow suit before bringing up a display of the ship's working systems. Typing out a command with one hand, Keilana reached up and over her head with the other to throw a couple of switches. The controls started to hum with life. Keilana reached forward on the panel in front of her and turned a knob slowly. The noise in the cockpit rose in timbre in response.
"What exactly are you doing?" Jaina asked after watching Keilana for several minutes.
"Saving our necks," she said without looking at the young woman. "This old girl has a few tricks left up her sleeve...hear that?" She mumbled at the ship.
"Yes, but what are you doing?"
"Making us disappear," Keilana answered simply.
"Disappear."
"That's what I said."
"I'm sure that a squadron of cloaked ships will be able to spot us real fast," Jaina said, expressing her doubts. The other two voiced their agreements.
"Now, I didn't say that I was cloaking us, did I?" And Keilana left the subject at that, refusing to discuss it any further. She couldn't let the Jedi in on all of her secrets after all.
After many long minutes, Keilana shut down every system except for one. The cockpit fell silent and Keilana motioned for the others to remain so as well. They all watched the sky for any indication that the Phantoms were approaching. After a time, Keilana pointed to the sky as the stars started to ripple.
"There they are," she said under her breath. The Jedi nodded and continued to watch. There were no further indications that the ships had located them.
Until they landed about ten meters away, that is.
The three Phantoms set down in all of their uncloaked glory and managed to shine in the light provided by the stars. They were a terrible sight to behold and the pilots that climbed out of them were just as frightening. Decked out in black, the pilots all but disappeared into the night.
"I don't think it worked," Keilana said after a moment. "They know we're here."
"So…" Kyp glanced at Keilana with a quizzical look.
Keilana shrugged. "So, we go out there and talk to them civil like."
"Right."
"Well, it certainly is better than sitting around in here hoping they don't see us. I can't see you so you can't see me doesn't work in this situation." Keilana stood up and, checking the locks on her holsters, she left the cockpit.
Kyp caught up with her as she was lowering the hatch.
"So you are just going to walk out there?"
"Yeah. I'm going to try to talk some sense into them or attempt to pay them off."
Kyp furrowed his brow as the hatch lowered. "I don't know how well that's going to work, Key."
"Well, it doesn't hurt trying, now does it?" Keilana started down the ramp as it touched down and Kyp's shrug went unnoticed.
As Keilana approached the three pilots, their leader's voice rose above the howling wind.
"Very cleaver, bounty hunter," the pilot said. Though distorted by both the helmet and the wind, the pilot's voice was distinctly female. As Keilana drew closer, she noticed that one of the other pilots was female as well while the third was male.
"What is?" Keilana asked when the leader did not bother to elaborate on her comment.
"Your Chameleon Drive. I haven't seen one with my own eyes but I certainly have heard about them. In fact, we almost didn't spot you until one of my wing mates came up with a brilliant idea." The longer the pilot talked, the more familiar her voice became. Keilana stepped forward another meter or so and narrowed her eyes against the blowing sand. The pilots were wearing flightsuits of black with the yellow cords of the Royal Guard draped over their shoulders. Each wore one blaster pistol holstered at their hip and a long dagger sheathed against the back of their belts. The leader was also wearing a long black cape attached to one shoulder that the wind was whipping around her legs. All in all, the three were quite striking, even in the dim light provided by the stars and the Phantom's landing lights.
"They are very rare after all, your Grace," Keilana said, a slight smile touching her lips.
"Ah, yes," the woman said, lifting her arms. Keilana's left hand went instantly to her blaster. However the leader simply lifted her helmet over her head and shook out dark hair which had been decorated with braids and beads in the ancestral warrior fashion of her culture. Keilana heard Kyp suck in a breath of surprise behind her; she simply shook her head and closed her arms over her chest.
"To be honest, I'm not surprised they sent you to chase after me, Seva Caiterina," Keilana said after a moment. Seva's face remained stoic but her anger was apparent.
"I chose to come after you, Hunter, and do you know why?"
Keilana shook her head.
"You. Ruined. My. Life. That's why, Leena. You just had to come back to Lye, didn't you? You just had to seek out Winton for another one of your sick escapades across the galaxy. His record had been clear since before you escaped from our prisons four years ago without so much as a blemish." Seva's blue eyes were aflame with anger and hate as she accused Keilana. Keilana, on the other hand, stood calmly in front of her taking the blows as if they were old news. "So, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"I'm just sorry that he got caught this time, Seva," Keilana said after a moment. She smiled and issued a humorless laugh. "You know, this is funny, actually."
"I don't see the humor in it."
"He has been helping me for years now. You've got yourself quite an informed man running Guttina, you really do. He knows a lot. You should be proud."
Seva shook her head. "You cold hearted… You have no feelings, do you?"
"Oh, I don't know…"
"I can't marry Winton now that you've destroyed what he's worked so hard to achieve. My parent's would never sanction a marriage between myself and a bounty hunter sympathizer. The King has already threatened to strip him of every title he has held and all of his names save two. Winton's too intelligent to be thrown to the bottom of the castes like that." Keilana could see the tears well up in Seva's eyes. "And that's why I'm here. You are coming back with me."
"And if I say no?"
"Then you come back in pieces. Though I'll have to be careful because they want you alive."
Keilana rose her brow and whistled. She glanced at the other two pilots who had remained silent and still throughout the confrontation. Through the Force, Keilana could feel Kyp's anticipation of trouble.
"Well, I'm not too fond of either choice, Seva. Do you think we can solve this diplomatically? I mean, I could record an apology that you can air once you go home as well as send a gift of riches to your king…or we can solve this here on Geonosis between you and me."
"You are a fugitive of the Cluster, Leena; I couldn't possibly decide your future myself and expect to get away with it upon my return home."
"Then we're at a stalemate, I guess. You won't act and I won't budge—"
"Get down!" Kyp suddenly yelled from behind Keilana. In an instant, everybody was on their stomachs in the sand as a volley of blaster fire burned the air above them.
"Who the hell else did you bring out here!" Keilana yelled at Seva. The older woman narrowed her eyes in anger.
"I've only myself and my wing mates. The question is: who did you attract?"
"What makes you think they are here because of me!" Keilana yelled over the wind and the blaster fire that was slowly burning its way toward the five humans. She was about to accuse Seva of something further but didn't have the chance. Rolling to her right, Keilana barely managed to avoid getting hit by a very well aimed blaster bolt. She drew her own blaster from its holster and let a couple of wild shots go before looking in the direction of fire. In the dark it was incredibly hard to make anything out. However, thanks to an implant she had received some years earlier, Keilana had vision that was better than that of the average human being. Still it was hard to pick out the swiftly moving silhouettes of their attackers in the dark.
"Because you've been here longer!" Seva answered. She and her pilots had pulled out their blasters as well and were shooting into the dark. Seva's wing mates appeared to be pulling off far more calculated and well-aimed shots. Keilana assumed it was because of their helmets and the technology therein.
Keilana snorted; she knew Seva was right. The natives had probably been disturbed earlier in the day and hadn't been able to track down the intruding ship until now. Cursing under her breath, Keilana started to track the movements of the Geonosians while favoring her injured left arm (her sprained elbow was healing but it was still painful). Pulling off a flurry of blaster fire, Keilana managed to clip one of the aliens with little effect. It simply hopped above most of the blaster bolts to flutter in midair for a moment before touching down. To her left, Seva was yelling instructions to her pilots in their native tongue and to her right Kyp was fidgeting with his lack of anything to do. Pausing her tracking, Keilana tossed her extra blaster to the Jedi. He caught it and nodded his thanks.
The stand off between the Geonosians and the humans lasted for several more minutes with little success on either side. Seva's pilots managed to clip another one of the insectoid aliens and the natives managed to burn a hole through Keilana's jacket. Then, all of a sudden, Geonosian blaster fire stopped and they disappeared in the blink of an eye. Seva and Keilana exchanged confused looks before turning to their respective teammates.
"Can you feel them, Kyp? Because I've lost them." Keilana scooted closer to him in order to speak in low enough tones so that the Lyians couldn't overhear them. Kyp shook his head.
"Not really. I get faint flickers through the Force, but it's almost as if they have a young or sick…" Kyp trailed off and his eyes widened in fear. "…ysalamiri."
"The kids…" Keilana pushed herself up and took off towards her ship. Climbing the boarding ramp, she reached out through the Force for the twins but they were nowhere to be found. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as her heart started to pound in her chest. She turned for the cages and stopped in her tracks when she was met with the scene before her. Two of the insectoid aliens lay in pieces on the floor and sand was strewn about the floor. A scent of burned clothing and flesh hung in the air. The walls were blacked by blaster fire. The ysalamiri was nowhere to be seen.
"They're gone," Keilana muttered. Turning to Kyp as he skid around the corner and into the door, she shook her head hopelessly. "I don't know how the bugs did it, but the twins are gone."
A/N: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! Knowing that people read this helps make my job as the author a little easier. Of course, a summer's worth of writers block doesn't help, but the chapter is finally here. It took the original Trilogy, Attack of the Clones, Harry Potter, the NJO series, and the Chronicles of Riddick to get me out of my funk. An odd pot, but they all helped in some form or another. That and reading back through some of the reviews you all left me. Thanks again! Until the next installment…