Chapter 16: I Only Wish Ben Were Here
Ben swallowed, but otherwise he was as frozen as a protocol droid on Hoth, his whole energy focused on finding a way out of this mess. Behind him, he could feel Keorra trying to get out from behind him, the Upoi warrior not able to hide behind the Jedi. The young Seer was unsure of whether the Bounty Hunter was here for him or for Keorra; after all, they had both run away from the organizations that had been their homes.
Keorra's arm dropped to where her blaster was holstered, brushing Ben's back and thigh, making it possible for him to trace the movement. "Don't," he whispered to her. Louder, he addressed the Bounty Hunter. "What is your business here?"
The blaster muzzle had not moved from the kill mark on Ben, one the young Jedi knew would go right through him and strike Keorra just as fatally. Without seeming to move, Ben inched his hand closer to his lightsaber, where he had instantly strapped it to his waist when Keorra had woken him. He had all confidence that he could clear it before the Bounty Hunter even thought about fingering his trigger.
By the cock of the helmet, Ben read amusement in the Bounty Hunter. "You, kid," came a deep voice, harsh and grated through the helmet speaker/receiver.
Ben had been afraid of this - that he had put another person he cared about (he wasn't exactly sure when he started to care about Keorra, but it didn't matter, he cared for her just the same) in danger. "Archan Slayyer, your name proceeds you," Ben mused out loud, trying to keep the Bounty Hunter distracted long enough for him to think of a plan to get Keorra away safely. "If you're here for me, that means my life has been contracted out. Assassination is your game, not search and capture." Ben splayed his arms in front of him. "If it is my life you're after, take it." He cocked his head at the now-stunned Keorra. "But you let her go first."
"Very brave of you, boy, but I've been hired to take you alive," the Slayyer told him. "And I'm afraid I can't leave any witnesses," he continued, now moving his blaster to the one exposed side of Keorra.
Ben instantly moved to cover her, but the Upoi Soulreader continued to move behind him, leaving herself exposed to the bounty hunter's weapon. Was she trying to get herself killed? "This is no game," he hissed to the Upoi warrior. "He will kill you."
"You are so willing to give up your life?" she snapped back in his ear.
To end the nightmares, yes he would give up his life. Any Jedi would, to stop the rise of darkness, but there was no point to her death, no reason for her to give her life for his. "I assure you, if you kill her I will not be an easy captive," Ben threatened. "In fact, I will be no captive at all. Nefarion will not be happy if he learns you missed your opportunity by killing her."
"So sure of yourself, Jedi?" the Slayyer posed the question cockily, doubting that this young boy in front of him could evade him so easily. Ben got the feeling that the Slayyer enjoyed his job, and the ugliness that came with it. "Is it this Nefarion that wants you so badly that he will pay me a fortune to assure you're delivered safely?"
Ben did not even blink. Bounty Hunters on the whole usually didn't know who they really were contracted by, used to going through middle men, and a long line of them at that. Archan Slayyer, more of an assassin than a bounty hunter, would be used to working in the shadows of his employer, never caring who it was that paid him, as long as he got the amount promised. To answer the Slayyer, Ben just nodded.
Again he could feel Keorra steeling herself for action, and Ben did not like it. The girl was going to get herself killed before he could even negotiate her release. He feared meeting up with Nefarion, feared what he might do when he faced his father's killer, but he would rather face that than watch Keorra die. He could not let another die before him. Not when he was still reeling from his father's death.
An echoing huff came from the bounty hunter, the helmeted equivalent of the bounty hunter's laughter. "You try to threaten me with a name I do not even know, Jedi. I care little what this Nefarion will think if the girl shall die." The Slayyer stiffened. "Now stand aside and let us finish this."
Even as Keorra tightened her muscles to act, Ben erupted into motion, going from permanence to fluidity in the matter of a breath. His lightsaber was in hand even as he reached out to grasp the Bounty Hunter's blaster in a Force grip. Ben leaped high, snapping his right foot to kick Keorra out of the way, knowing that the stubborn Upoi warrior would get herself killed. Relief hit him as she stumbled away. Slayyer managed to get off one shot before Ben's blue blade cleaved the blaster muzzle in two, but the Bounty Hunter had dealt with Jedi before.
Following Ben's leap, Slayyer hit a switch on his arm plate, sending out a spool of tension cord that wrapped itself around Ben's legs. Throwing his weight on the cord, Slayyer brought Ben down to the ground with a resounding thump. The young Seer didn't have time to allow the momentary discomfort or the lack of oxygen the fall stole from him. He whirled his lightsaber in his hands, lifting his legs high enough so that the blade cut through the cord, then he rolled on his spin, shutting his lightsaber down long enough to flip himself backwards and to his feet, the energy blade sputtering to life as he once again faced the Slayyer.
With his feet bound with the cord, his maneuverability was greatly reduced, and Ben risked a level of concentration that might catapult him into another Force-induced vision, but one that could possibly ensure him a victory. He spotted Keorra, now reoriented from the kick he had given her, glaring at him with such venom that for a moment he remembered the glare that his mother used to give his father when she disagreed with something he had done. Uncle Talon had said Keorra had reminded him of Ben's mother, but this was uncanny.
He sent her a look that he hoped she would read as 'stay out of this', but he knew he was pressing his luck. Even if Keorra read him correctly, she would most likely ignore the warning. He did not linger long, however, on Keorra. Having twice tasted Ben's ability, Archan Slayyer had become wary of his young antagonist, but Ben knew better than to underestimate the Bounty Hunter.
Bounty Hunters range from the most incredibly skilled warriors to the incredibly inept, his mother had instructed him years ago. Whichever they are, they can still be dangerous. Make sure to never underestimate them. Ben knew that Archan Slayyer was the adept kind, and he watched the bounty hunter with equal wariness, while trying to keep Keorra from making a rash move.
How do I keep getting in these types of situations? he asked himself. It's not as though I look for them. In fact, I'm trying to avoid them as much as possible.
"Look," he addressed Archan Slayyer. "We can do this the easy way. I'll come with you willingly, as long as you let her and the rest of Karrde's people remain safe."
Keorra shook her head avidly, even as she reached for her blaster. Ben made a jerking gesture with his free hand, and her blaster leaped out of her holster and skittered across the floor, out of the reach of both the Upoi warrior and the Bounty Hunter. Ben couldn't afford Keorra ruining his negotiations at this stage, however he was prepared to Force-toss her weapon back to her if the need arose. He never liked disarming an ally, but right now it was necessary so that Keorra did not get trigger-happy.
Ben hoped that Slayyer could lead him to Nefarion. If they could sniff the Sith Lord out and whoever his contacts might be, it would be easier to thwart Nefarion's plans. For that to happen Ben needed Archan Slayyer alive, and Keorra threatened that plan.
Archan Slayyer's dark visor band scrutinized him. "How can I be assured of your cooperation, Jedi?"
As a sign of his cooperation, Ben extinguished his lightsaber and held it out for the Bounty Hunter. Apparent complacency now may fool Slayyer, so that when Ben really needed to show rebellion Slayyer wouldn't anticipate it. But Slayyer grimaced away from the saber pommel. "This is a trick," the Bounty Hunter accused.
"Now, McCal!" Keorra suddenly called out.
Ben was shocked to see a carefully placed blaster bolt strike out at the Bounty Hunter in a crack between Slayyer's armor, and the man crumpled to the ground in an instant. For a moment, all Ben could do was look at the unexpectedly fallen body, in the next moment he was next to the wounded Bounty Hunter, checking his vitals. Under his seeking fingertips he felt the Bounty Hunter's pulse beat against his skin. Archan Slayyer was alive, but just barely - if his heart rhythm was any indication.
"He's alive," Ben said, hefting the larger Bounty Hunter into his arms.
Keorra's violet eyes went as wide as credit chits. "What the hell are you doing?"
"He has information on the man who hired him. If I can find that man, I can stop the impending war with the Yuuzhan Vong," Ben snapped at her, glaring steel. "That's why I didn't put that much of a fight up. I wanted him to take me. Certainly you must have read that."
Turning away from his glare she found a spot on the tile floor she found intriguing. "I didn't know for what purpose you wanted to be taken, but I did read you."
"You may not understand what I am doing, but I would hope you would trust me," Ben said, almost pleadingly. He needed someone to trust him.
Her violet eyes were alight with fire. "How can I trust you when you don't even trust yourself?"
"I don't need a protector," Ben argued.
Keorra swiped her blaster off of the floor. "Nor do I. The next time you disarm me, be careful that it is not you the blaster bolt is aimed for."
"Where is the medical unit?" Ben demanded, not wanting to go into his motives with this maddening woman.
"You're going to save him after he just tried to take your life?" Keorra countered a question with a question.
Ben shook his head. "He was only trying to kidnap me."
"And there's a difference?" Keorra scoffed.
"There is to me," Ben assured her. "The medical unit?"
"McCal," Keorra addressed her Suul friend. "Show Skywalker to the medical wing." She brought her attention back to Ben. "I'm informing Karrde of this."
"Fine, I need to talk to him anyway about sending the fleet out to Naboo," Ben said, and nodded McCal forward.
Keorra growled at him. "You ask much, Skywalker."
"Only ask what the Force wishes," Ben said as he followed McCal out.
The ancient Suul did not speak as he led Ben through the corridors. Ben was grateful for the silence, he needed to concentrate on gaining control of his grip on the Force. He had come close to losing it back there, and knew that he needed to rest his mind. The Bounty Hunter was not incredibly large, but much bulkier than Ben, and it was an odd sight as the Seer lugged Archan Slayyer through Talon Karrde's safehouse.
Ben's muscles cried with joy when he levered the Bounty Hunter onto a medical bunk and let Uncle Talon's people take care of him. It was a few minutes of watching the deft movements of the medics before Ben realized that McCal was watching him. "You dislike the way I treated her back there?" he posed the question, without even turning to the ancient Suul.
"You treat this bounty hunter with more respect," McCal sneered at Archan Slayyer.
"He would have killed her," Ben whispered.
McCal came back to gauging him. "Do you have no faith in her abilities?"
"It was not her abilities that I worried about. You never underestimate an assassin because they kill without thought, without meaning. He would have killed her and felt nothing in doing so as long as he accomplished the job he was hired to do," Ben explained. "To ensure that didn't happen, I would have let him take me, as long as she remained safe."
"Karrde will side with you?" the ancient Suul guessed.
Ben shrugged. "I believe Uncle Talon will see why I made the decision I did."
"Ben Skywalker, you had better explain why you disarmed my head of security and nearly allowed yourself to be captured by the Bounty Hunter Archan Slayyer," Karrde bellowed as he approached the medical wing, his voice carrying in advance of his body.
"Speak of the Sith," Ben said, and turned to head off his irate uncle, pausing long enough to order the medics to keep Slayyer unconscious. McCal nodded the order forward, and followed Ben out of the medical wing.
Karrde was certainly in the biggest snit Ben had ever seen him in. Talon Karrde was a reserved sort and was not prone to outbursts, but Ben had managed to send him into quite a few in his short years. Fixing the smile that always melted his surrogate uncle, Ben greeted Karrde. "Uncle Talon, you have some questions for me?"
"Don't give me that innocent look, Ben," Uncle Talon warned. "Your father's didn't work on me, and yours certainly won't."
"We can discuss this later," Ben dodged. "Naboo is under attack, and I have already been delayed enough by Slayyer. I've already signaled Artoo to my X-wing, and he'll be waiting for me. I'd like to take a percentage of your space defense fleet with me to Naboo, and McCal here, to keep an eye on Slayyer. Also, see what information you can pry out of him about who hired him. Apparently there is a sizeable bounty on my head."
Karrde watched him in awed surprise, and even let Ben pass him as the young Seer headed for his X-wing. Ben was never so demanding, but circumstances were calling for it - he needed to get to Naboo, he could feel it in the Force and he was determined to change at least that part of this morning's vision.
"Keorra, follow my rebellious nephew to Naboo with a contingent of our best pilots," Karrde ordered his chief of security.
Ben finally allowed himself to look at the girl who was already fuming at her previous mistreatment. Keorra, however, did not deem him worthy of her scrutiny. "Boss, that leaves you unprotected."
"I've called Shada in. She's close to home base, and should be here in a matter of hours," Karrde said, giving Ben a pointed look as if to say 'don't push it, Skywalker'. Ben just smiled.
So Uncle Talon was finally going to take the leap of faith that was marriage. Ben had not needed a vision to know that eventually his uncle would. However, Ben could not wait to exchange these happy tidings, Naboo was calling him. "If you're to come with me, it has to be now," he addressed Keorra.
"Fine," the Upoi Soulreader hissed, and headed off without another word.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"I only wish Ben were here," Anakin mused to himself inside the cockpit of his borrowed Naboo fighter.
Despite the best efforts of the Naboo Space Defense Fleet, the fake Republic fleet was mowing them down. What was obviously a fleet that only took part in drills and mock battles desperately lacked the battle hardness that the other fleet possessed. It was only a matter of time before Nefarion's fleet got past their defenses and destroyed the Yuuzhan Vong that were helpless below on the surface of the planet. Anakin knew that they were only a delaying tactic to the inevitable. But a tactic that the Force was willing inside of him. Whatever else had happened to him since his rebirth, he still trusted the Force's guidance.
"One and Five, fall in behind me, we're going to drill through the permacrete," Anakin ordered. A long chain of Republic-style fighters were forming a barrier as if to plow through the weak Naboo Space Defense, and Anakin wanted to pick the chain apart before they got the momentum that would allow such a maneuver. Anakin frowned as the sleek ships formed up behind him. The fighters were top of the line, shields the strongest that could be found (legally), with excellent turbolasers, but he knew that despite the fleet's technical superiority, many of the Naboo would die, perhaps himself included.
It wouldn't be the first time, Anakin thought derisively, juking his fighter as he instinctively dodged laser fire from the aggressive fleet.
Sometime during the battle, the Naboo Space Defense had handed command over to him, he wasn't exactly sure when and how, but he found himself directing a large group of finely trained but ill-experienced fighter pilots. Anakin had spent his time in dogfights, had seen friends struck down, helpless to stop it. His sister, Jaina, he knew, was far more experienced than he was in such things. Since he was wishing for the impossible, he wished for her appearance, too.
His trio drilled into the enemy fleet, causing breaks in the offense line that was ever encroaching upon Naboo gravity. It wouldn't take much more for them to break through, and the Naboo pilots under his direction knew it, yet they continued to astound him in how quickly they learned from just the lessons in this battle. As the head of the makeshift spear, Anakin drew most of the fire, leaving One and Five to pummel the firing fighters as Anakin danced his fighter around the energy lances.
As soon as he crossed through the line of approaching fighters, Anakin sent the fighter into a climb, arching it up and over the fleet, barrel-rolling when the laser fire traced after him. Although he had become acquainted with Yuuzhan Vong technology, actually physically thrived amongst it, Anakin had missed the feel of metal under his fingers, the hum of engines thrumming through the ship. He was in his element, and for a rare and brief moment he felt at home.
So far, Nefarion's fleet hadn't played the vanishing act that it had on Bellalt; such a cloaking device would be a hard to get around, with him as the only Jedi who could trace the living beings through relative space. Anakin was grateful for that small consolation.
Below him, Five's climb wasn't sharp enough, and the frigate sentries sitting just outside of the offensive ring picked the Naboo fighter off with lances of red light. Anakin's stomach clenched as he felt the death in the Force, a sick feeling that rolled around his stomach, tumbling in to join the emotions that had accompanied the other deaths of his shrinking Naboo fleet. Anakin pulled his mind from the nausea and focused on his flying. If he were to keep any others from joining the Force, he would have to fly better than he ever had before.
He switched his comm on. "This is Jedi Anakin Solo, stay as far away from those frigate sentries as you possibly can. Concentrate on the fighters."
He received a responding click from each of the Naboo fighters, some of them verbally voicing their agreement. Those sentries were what really worried Anakin. The fighters they could probably fight off, but those large frigates were posing a problem. Short of flying into them, Anakin couldn't hazard a guess as to how to eliminate their threat.
"Form up and stay alert," he continued before signing off. He could feel the Force swirling, warning of an upcoming event, whether good or bad Anakin couldn't discern. He suddenly caught a glimpse of what Ben must experience in every vision, trying to put the pieces together to form what would eventually become reality. It softened his heart against his cousin, who, after Analsa's sacrifice, Anakin couldn't help but feel frustrated with.
A sense of announcement flickered towards Anakin directly, even before his proximity indicators began flashing in cautionary yellows. Anakin's comm beeped, signaling that he was being hailed, and he was quick to snap it on, already having recognized the sense of announcement.
"Ben!" he exclaimed. "Boy, am I glad to see you." He scanned his proximity screen. "Who do you have with you?"
"Uncle Talon's fleet," Ben answered, sounding slightly embarrassed. Anakin understood. Ben had not wanted to be found, but here he was, the Force practically trumpeting his arrival to the very people he had wanted to hide from.
"Uncle Talon?" Anakin asked.
There was a chuckle over his earset, feminine and caustic. "Talon Karrde," it informed him.
Anakin's ship danced, avoiding several rounds of blaster fire. "Well, I'll have to personally thank Karrde. We are in some bad bantha dung here, Ben."
"I know," Ben responded. "I've sent some of our cruisers, we don't have many of them, to take care of those large Republic-class frigates. We're not large, but hopefully we can scare them off enough for a retreat."
Anakin nodded, knowing that Ben wouldn't see the gesture. "What do you suggest?" He trusted Ben's ability to discern a situation and strategize a solution for it.
"Two groups. You seem to have some good pilots, but they don't have much experience, so I say we mix and shuffle. I'll give you half of Karrde's fleet, and you give me half of yours. Then divide and conquer," Ben paused for a moment. "Too bad you don't have Valin with you, he's pretty good with a fighter, we could have had three groups."
"Ben, Valin's dead," Anakin told him solemnly.
"What? How?" Ben snapped, the words exploding from his mouth.
"I'll explain later," Anakin dodged the questions, thankful for the small respite before he explained that Valin had died leading the Jedi team away from Ben. His cousin would feel responsible for a death that wasn't his fault. Something he didn't need in a time when he thought he was bound to bring the galaxy to its knees. "Let's clear the spaceways, Ben."
He was trying to urge his cousin off the subject, but although Ben guided his fleet into merging with Anakin's, he could tell that the young Seer was still upset by Valin Horn's death. From what Anakin had gathered, Ben and Valin had never been each other's favorite people, up until the battle for Bellalt, there they had found common ground and a truce. Anakin blinked back inexplicable tears. So much death in such a small time, and yet Anakin Solo had returned from the dead. The Force had willed it, and he felt guilty for his life.
Just as he gained control of his emotions, the Force darkened with yet another powerful disturbance, this time the deaths of Yuuzhan Vong. Gritting his teeth, he used the life around him to fill in the emptiness of the rents the Yuuzhan Vong's death caused in the Force. He felt Ben's turmoil, as he too struggled to come to terms with such a large disturbance in the Force. Anakin was reminded that Ben had no such defense as he did, that his poor cousin would see their deaths, feel the emptiness and the cold, and would be helpless to fight against it.
"Ben," he called over his helmet inset speaker, not caring who else heard the two agonizing Jedi. "Concentrate on the light of the living," he instructed his cousin and apprentice. "Let their warmth shield you from the deaths."
It was a while before Ben answered. "I can't, Anakin. I can't allow such a deep connection to the Force or I'll get caught into it."
"You've done it before," Anakin argued, wondering what had happened to Ben during their separation.
"Just trust me that I can't," Ben intoned.
That feminine voice came back to snap at Ben. "Skywalker, what in Coruscant's seven moons is going on?"
For a moment Anakin was thrown back in time to when his Aunt Mara and Uncle Luke were very much alive, and 'Skywalker' was an endearment Mara used to address her husband. Whoever this woman was, did she feel something for his cousin, and if so, would it take ten years, as it had for Mara and Luke, for them to finally admit it?
"Other planets that hold Yuuzhan Vong are being attacked, and they don't have the benefit of our assistance. Anakin and I can feel their deaths," Ben answered back, not heatedly but with resignation in his voice. "Keorra, turn to point 09, De'sora needs to be covered."
Instantly, the X-wing that had been sidled up next to Ben's veered off and dropped to join De'sora and sector point 09. "New friend?" Anakin asked.
"She works for Uncle Talon," Ben answered.
"Has she threatened to kill you yet?" Anakin joked, trying to let the levity distract Ben from the painful disturbance in the Force.
"A couple of times, but I didn't take her seriously. Why?" Ben asked, sounding confused.
Anakin just shook his head, amazed at how innocent Ben could be about such things. He could see the future, but when it came down to it, Ben was just a boy, barely turned seventeen. What a way to spend your birthday, in the midst of a battle. He should have been celebrating with his parents, being with his family, but the Force had deemed a different life for him.
"Just a thought," he answered. realizing he had been silent for a long while.
Anakin turned his mind to the battle. and tried to ignore the echoing disturbances in the Force.