Chapter 18
Kyp and Jaina headed up the circular stair/ramp and made it up three levels before they were headed off by a quartet of battle droids. As they attempted to head down a long corridor from the landing, another quartet approached them, effectively boxing them in and opening fire on them.
While Jaina and Kyp stood back to back defecting the laser fire, Kyp quipped but with little humor, "Guess we were discovered."
Jaina deflected another of the blue laser beams back into the droid that shot it at her. She was surprised when nothing seemed to happen to the droid. "Kyp, I don't think they want us dead. They're shooting stun blasts."
"Great," he said as he stepped forward. "Happy to hear that. Of course, they don't want us dead. They want to know who we are." His tone filled with frustration as he parried another barrage of blasts. He took a few more steps forward and then struck with a slashing motion, cutting down two of the four droids. He continued with his litany, "And who sent us…" Then he leaped in a twisting motion toward the other two who were trying to out flank him. He parried their blasts easily and struck with his saber decapitating one and leveling the other one at its middle. Then he finished as he landed on his feet by saying, "…And what we are doing here."
Jaina wasn't really listening to him; she was too busy with the four droids facing her. She stepped forward toward her quartet at the same time Kyp had. She tricked the droids into bunching closer together and turning away from Kyp's back by weaving from one side to the other; they were trying to find her center which she seemingly kept open. Once she was close enough to them, Jaina dropped to the floor, she parried two shots on the way down then let go of her ignited saber. She used the Force to propel the spinning weapon through the air. Before the droids could process what happened to their ever-moving target, three of them were cut in half. She rolled her body out of the line of fire of the remaining droid's blast and used a Force-shove to topple the mechanical soldier. She jumped up and caught her lightsaber as she regained her feet. She then easily decapitated the droid as it was trying to get up.
She turned to Kyp who had finished with his droids seconds before she did. He was coming toward her to help but instead stopped to stare at her.
"Stang, where did you learn moves like that?" he asked in admiration.
She grinned and clipped her deactivated saber onto her belt and then patted him on the arm. She said as she stepped past him and pulled the datapad from her belt, "My uncle."
"Oh." He truly was impressed with the concentration that move would have required to execute. She was headed back towards the stair. He clipped his saber on his belt and followed.
They warily moved up the next level. The progress was slowed down as they hid from another squad of battle droids at the forth level landing. They continued up once the way was clear only to find more droids waiting for them on the fifth. This time though they were quickly outnumbered as reinforcements arrived from several different directions, surrounding them. The Jedi worked feverishly to deflect the blasts as they came at them from all directions. But the whirling sabers all too soon became overwhelmed to deflect them. Jaina was the first to be hit in the shoulder with a stun blast. She let out a startled exclamation as she fell to the floor unconscious.
"Jaina!" Kyp yelled, losing his concentration and was hit with a blue blast in the chest. He landed about a meter away from his fallen love.
X
Marolosa watched with grudging fascination as the Jedi fought the first group of battle droids. He didn't think that eight of them would stop the Jedi but it would slow them down and allow him to watch Jaina Solo's skill. He had done a HoloNet cross match and quickly and quite easily discovered the identity of the famous hero of the Vong War and former Joiner of the Chiss-Killik conflict. Now all that remained was discovering if she held any special meaning to the Jedi Master. He was hoping that she did because it would make his plan all the more enjoyable.
The cyborg sat back in his chair and said at the intercom mike as he watched Jaina Solo bring down the last of the droids she was battling, "Prepare my transport. We will be headed to Factory A. And bring at least four ysalamiri, they will prove very useful, I think." Marolosa had kept and bred the Force-repelling creatures for the past ten years and always had several placed around him at all times.
He then opened the upper drawer of his desk and pulled out a small metallic box. He thumbed the latch and after it identified him it opened to reveal a dart. It was an assassin's dart a similar type that was very common during the later days of the Old Republic and believed preferred by Jango Fett. Marolosa had several of the darts made from a relic he found once on a planet near the edge of Wild Space. After extensive research he discovered it was a saberdart from Kamino. The actual dart could not be completely copied but he was able to discover enough to create very close replica. He used them to assassinate those who had the courage or the stupidity to try to double cross him.
He picked up the dart, turning it over in his hand. He smiled because he had this one filled with a very special toxin and he now knew exactly what he would do with it. He carefully put he dart back into its box. He closed the box and grasped it in his fist, with his other hand he reached into the same drawer and pulled out the gun from which he would use to shoot the dart. Smiling more insanely than before he stood and brought it along with him as he left for the transport that would take him the fifty kilometers to the factory where he hoped to seek his revenge.
X
Kyp was the first to come to. At first he was confused, his mouth was dry and his head hurt. He reached up and rubbed his temple, his arm and hand feeling as if he was in a very low gravity. He was lying on his back on a cold, hard stone floor. As he tried to move, he discovered his back hurt as well, as if he had been lying in that position for much too long.
"Awww," he groaned as he opened his eyes very gingerly against the bright light from over head. He eventually sat and squint his eyes against the pain caused from the bright lights. He looked around to find Jaina stirring several meters away. "Jaina, you okay?"
Finally, she moved her hand to her head, "Ouch!" After she awkwardly sat up and rubbing her temples, she declared, "I really hate being stunned."
"Yeah, it's like a hangover without any of the fun." Then he looked around the cell to take stock of the situation. "Wonder where we are?"
Jaina rubbed her back to find that she still had her datapad tucked into her belt. She pulled it out and after a few minutes she announced, "We're on the sixth level not far from the control room."
Kyp stared at her datapad and smiled, "Well, we now know that these droids are stupid. They would have taken that if they had two credits worth of intelligence. Even Threepio isn't that dumb without Artoo."
Kyp stared at the door and closed his eyes to concentrate. First, he shunted away his growing aches and pains. Then, he took a deep breath falling further into the rhythm of the Force. He let his perception expand to outside of the locked steel door. After a few minutes he opened his eyes to find Jaina sitting beside him closely watching him. He said, "There are three guards outside the door. And at least two more down the hall. I sensed our lightsabers and probably our blasters in that room with those guards."
Jaina turned her attention to the door. "Do you think you can open it?"
Kyp slowly stood, a brief wave of lingering dizziness passed over him. After he steadied his spinning world, he moved to the door and laid his hand over locking mechanism. "It should be simple enough to open. It's a mechanical lock not electronic."
"That's ancient technology for you," she smiled. "Even Ma'lil could probably open that." She then stood and after she steadied herself from a similar wave of dizziness, she moved to stand beside him. She brushed her backside as if to brush off excessive dirt. Kyp watched her as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she often did in deep thought. He couldn't help but smile. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"I was just thinking of what I'm going to do to you after we get out of here."
She grinned and blushed, "Emm… I can't wait. So, tell me what do you have planned?" Then she grew serious and sent through the Force, This is too easy. We're being watched.
I know, Kyp sent back to Jaina, We're probably being led into a trap. He lopsidedly grinned and said aloud, "Well, I think it definitely includes a long hot shower together and several backrubs."
Jaina put her hand on his arm and her brown eyes burned into his. Her beautiful mouth twisted into a Solo grin as she sent, Well, we'll just have to spring the trap, won't we? Then she said, "I'm definitely interested in that. But I'm hoping you don't stop with just backrubs."
He smiled and bent down and captured her lips in a quick but still passionate kiss. He pulled back and whispered, "I'll not only rub your back as much as you want but anything else as well." His green eyes glittered mischievously.
Kyp then turned his attention to the door. He waved his hand over the lock and a soft click followed. He then looked down at her, their minds completely open to the other. He gazed into her eyes and asked, "You ready?"
She returned his open gaze and gripped his forearm. She looked so beautiful in that instant. Kyp found himself lost in the moment; he bent down and kissed her again sending to her through their bond, I love you, my beautiful Goddess, I always have and always will.
She reluctantly broke the kiss and smiled, And I love you my Mortal Knight. Then she said aloud, "Now, I'm ready."
The next wave of Kyp's hand opened the door with a screech. The three droids immediately turned their attention to their escaping captives. However, before they could fire their weapons, Jaina was ready with a Force shove that threw them across the corridor into the wall, smashing them.
Kyp watched as she stepped over to pick up two of the discarded blasters, turning the selector switch to kill. She handed one to Kyp and he snickered, "Remind me to never make you mad enough to want to throw me across a room." He followed her lead and turned up the dial to full power.
She chuckled, "Yeah, I did that to Jag once. He was mad at me for a little while."
"Oh?" He raised a dark eyebrow. But before she had a chance to answer the two battle droids came around the curve in the corridor from the room Kyp had said their lightsabers were in. Quickly, dropping and rolling to the walls in opposite directions, they avoided the volley of stun blasts. However, before they were able to find their targets, Jaina and Kyp immediately responded with a volley of their own leaving smoking holes in the droids chest plates.
They recovered their feet and ran down the hall to the room to retrieve their lightsabers, packs and blasters. Jaina looked around the darkened room, the only light coming from hundreds of blinking indicator lights on the computers. "Wait a minute," she said excitedly as she looked at the wall of computers.
Kyp turned from where he was about to exit the door way, "What is it?"
She pulled the datapad from her belt again and scanned it. She looked up at him with a large Solo grin on her face. "This is the control room."
He matched her smile and said, "Well, then I'll keep watch and you, Goddess, work your magic." He moved back to the doorway and ignited his lightsaber.
Jaina quickly set about and in finding a port; she plugged her datapad into it. She then keyed in the sequence that would initiate the upload from the control computer. As soon as she heard the beep that indicated the upload was complete, she pulled a datachip from another pouch on her belt. She found a datachip port and plugged it in. She then keyed another sequence that would begin the download of the virus. As soon as a beep sounded she quickly unplugged her datapad to prevent it from being corrupted. She turned to find Kyp watching her in fascination.
She cleared her throat and grinned, "I thought you were the lookout."
"I am." He smiled and went on to add as she shook her head, "I'm looking for both the bad guys and am looking at the most beautiful woman in the Galaxy. The bad guys don't seem to be coming so I decided to look at you."
"Durron, you are impossible," she chuckled as she pushed past him to move out the door.
He quickly followed, "How long before they shut down?"
"I don't know. But let's get out of here." She turned and smiled brightly, "I'm looking forward to that backrub."
Just then several dozen battle droids came down the corridor from the direction of the cell that they had awakened in moments before. Kyp reignited his saber and Jaina ignited hers as they turned to head down the hall in the opposite direction. She throw over her shoulder, "Kriff, I guess that backrub will have to wait just a little while longer."