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Rescue Workers
Damian turned the volume up as the distress signal looped.
"If anyone can hear this, please, we need your help!" the female voice said. "We're under attack by pirates! There's someone leading them! He uses laser claws! Please, we can pay you with Refined Coaxium! Please save us!"
"How long has the distress signal been playing?" Damian asked, looking to R3.
R3 beeped in response.
"Twenty minutes," Barriss translated.
"I swear, one of these days, I'm having them both augmented to speak," Damian said as they passed out of the asteroid belt they were in, seeing an old cargo frigate with an old, beat up shuttle covered front to rear in nude women of every attractive race and gang signs attached to the side of the frigate. "I think I know which is the pirate ship."
"Gee, I wonder," Ahsoka snorted. "Okay, who's going?"
"Me and Jek will sneak aboard and open the frigate's hangar," Damian said. "Once we do, I'll distract the Sith Stalker that I know we can all sense in there."
"What's a Sith Stalker doing working with Pirates?" Barriss asked.
"Depends on the amount of Coaxium they have," Damian said. "Anyway, once you guys get in, find the crew of the frigate and save them from the pirates. I'm sure Organa would love to have some refined coaxium."
The others nodded and Damian turned to leave, only for Ahsoka to catch his arm.
"First Sith Stalker in years," Ahsoka said. "Be careful."
"I will," Damian said, kissing her. "Besides, once you're in there, you'll be able to back me up."
Ahsoka nodded, smiling and kissing him again before Damian slipped past her, heading to the ramp with Jek, quickly slipping into one of the two vacuum suits they had, Jek already in the other, Electrostaff in hand and his blaster on his waist. Damian's own blaster was in his hand, his lightsaber hanging from his waist.
"You ready for this?" Damian asked.
"It's been a long time since I met a Sith Stalker," Jek said. "No. I'm probably not. But either way, I don't have a choice. I'll let you handle this one."
"Good," Damian nodded as he opened the ramp. "And who knows, maybe one of the frigate's crew members will be an attractive single girl about your age who can finally capture your attention."
"Don't get your hopes up," Jek said, both jumping out of the ramp, drifting through space.
As they reached the frigate, they activate their magnetic boots and landed on its hull, Damian using his lightsaber to cut a piece of the hull out and it was sucked into space instantly as the hallway depressurized. They both dropped through and a moment later, a ray shield filled the hole, the hallway beginning to pressurize, air being vented into the hallway. They took their helmets off and tossed them aside, hurrying down the hallway. After a couple of doors, and a few more hallways, they slipped into the hangar and stopped, seeing that the pirates had cut into the side of the hangar, and a couple dozen were standing around in the hangar. Among them, Damian recognized the same Lasat Sith Stalker he had seen on Mustafar so long ago.
"Shit," Damian muttered. "I was hoping to have longer before I fought him."
"How does it surprise you that a Sith Stalker's fucking up your plans?" Jek asked.
"Fair enough," Damian nodded. "I'm going to try to draw him to the ship's reactor. It's got the most room without being the hangar."
Jek nodded and Damian darted back through the door. Jek waited, watching the Lasat in silence. Finally, the Lasat's head snapped up, staring at a spot on the wall as he growled, extending his lightsaber claws.
"Jedi," the Lasat snarled. "You stay here. No one gets off the ship."
The pirates nodded and the Lasat left through a door off to the side. Once they had, Jek looked around the room, doing a quick headcount. If there were twelve outside, and possibly hostages inside, there were probably at least two, maybe three inside. He could handle that. He slung his electrostaff, drawing his pistol. Then, he leaned out, opening fire, taking care to hit the controls for the hangar door, forcing it to open, a ray shielding holding in the atmosphere.
Damian waited, watching the only door into the room. The room was almost perfect. A flat floor almost as big around as the hangar with the only obstruction being the ray-shielded reactor in the center. Finally, the door opened and the Lasat walked in, growling before a grin spread over his face as Damian extended one of his lightsaber blades, holding it in his right hand now.
"Well well," the Lasat grinned. "When you escaped, I could have sworn I'd never get the pleasure of being the one to kill you. Then when you disappeared after killing that bitch with the whip, I thought you had finally gotten smart. And yet, here you are, calling me out."
"Well, I got tired of being ambushed by you freaks, so I figured I'd spare you the trouble," Damian said. "So, pirates, huh?"
"Expendable and willing to transport the empire's new coaxium for a price far lower than it's actually worth," the Lasat said. "Gotta love cheap labor."
Daman nodded then took a breath, readying himself. The Lasat roared, charging, and Damian deflected his first slash, flipping over the other hand and landing behind the Lasat, slashing at his back, only for the Lasat to spin, knocking the blade aside and stabbing at Damian. Damian spun around the claws and slashed again. The Lasat rolled out of the way and stood, turning back to Damian and shoving his hand forward, blocking Damian's Force Push with his own. Then, Damian disconnected his lightsabers and charged, slashing at the Lasat rapidly, the Lasat blocking everything, holding his own. Finally, the Lasat stomped, a Force blast shooting off of him and hurling Damian backward. Damian flipped, landing on his feet and glaring at the Lasat as it charged, roaring angrily. He smirked. This one was weaker than the others. He could win this.
He sprinted forward, flipping as the Lasat slashed at him, only for the Lasat to flip sideways before he could kill him, slamming a kick into his side and launching him across the room. He crashed into the wall and rolled to the ground, groaning and picking up his lightsabers, extending them again as the Lasat leapt at him, slashing downward. Damian rolled out of the way, then blasted the Lasat, sending it crashing into the wall, bouncing along it. As the Lasat crashed to the ground, Damian stood, connecting his lightsabers again, leaving only one blade. Then, he drew his pistol, aiming at the Lasat as it stood, grinning.
"Feel free," the Lasat said. "I'll just deflect it with my claws."
Damian fired and the Lasat crossed his claws in front of himself. However, the bolt drilled through three of the four before stopping against the last. The Lasat stared at the blades, then dove out of the way of Damian as he slashed at him. As the Lasat was rolling, Damian's other arm snapped out, firing at the Lasat several times, the Lasat avoiding it. Then, Damian put the pistol away, deciding against punching a hole straight through to space, if he hadn't already. The Lasat charged, re-extending its blades, all of them reformed, and then slashed at Damian rapidly. Damian extended his other blade, deflecting the slashes rapidly before managing to separate his lightsabers again. He backpedalled quickly, the Lasat pressing his advantage hard. Then, just as the door opened and Ahsoka stepped in, Damian spun past the Lasat, splitting it across the abdomen, killing it.
Jek ducked down behind the crates he was hiding against, putting his empty blaster away. He was close, too. Only three enemies left outside the ship, and one or two on the ship, since two had left it to help the last one standing. He pulled his electro staff off of his back just as the pirates shouted in surprise and fear, several blaster shots ringing out. Jek leaned to the side, looking toward the opening of the hangar where the Wraith was backing in, the ramp open and Shaeeah standing at the bottom, twirling Jek's spare pistol on her finger.
"Shaeeah!" Jek smiled, jogging over as Ahsoka sprinted past them and out of the hangar. "Perfect timing."
"I told you to take your spare," Shaeeah said, tossing it to him.
Jek rolled his eyes and jogged to the ship, silently stepping into it, finding a group of men and women ranging from late teens to elderly on their knees in the center of the room, a single pirate standing with his back to the door, waiting to shoot anyone who moved. Jek smiled. Rookie mistake. He drew his electrostaff, extending it and turning it on, then slammed one end of it into the side of the pirate's head, knocking him to the ground before placing the end to his chest, electrocuting him for several seconds before letting up, the pirate now thoroughly unconscious.
"Is everyone alright?" Jek asked.
Just then, a door on the upper level opened and the pilot stepped through, aiming at Jek, who dove out of the way, grabbing his spare pistol and shooting the pilot several times as he stood, killing him.
"Thank you for saving us," a girl a woman a little older than Jek said. "But you have to save the others."
"Right," Jek nodded. "Where are they?"
"They were on their way to the bridge to send a distress signal last we knew," the woman said.
"Okay," Jek nodded. "Everyone head to our ship, the others will keep you guys safe."
The woman nodded, everyone rushing out of the pirates' ship and onto the Wraith, one of them bringing a white storage container. Jek ignored it and jogged off of the ship as well, meeting Shaeeah and Barriss in the middle of the hangar.
"Is this everyone?" Barriss asked.
"Not yet," Jek said. "She said the rest were headed for the bridge, so they could be basically anywhere by now."
"We'll have to split up," Barriss said. "Let's make this quick."
Jek nodded and they all hurried into the ship. Barriss branched off first, then Shaeeah. Jek headed back the way he and Damian had entered, passing the hole within a few minutes and then the bridge not long after. Except, it was empty. He walked to the controls and deactivated the distress signal, then jogged back out of the room and heading down the other hallway. He moved quickly and quietly, just as Damian had taught him so long ago. After a few minutes, he stopped as he turned into a hallway where more men and women, all dressed in the same marauder outfits as the hostages he had saved, lay dead in the hallways, most shot but others with blade wounds. There were also dead pirates, of course, but few of them. He followed the bodies until he reached the captain's cabin, hearing a scream from inside. He stopped beside the door, glancing up at a vent over it. He reached up, pulling it out and silently setting it aside before quickly scrambling up into the air duct, crawling along it until he was over the room, looking down through it.
There were five pirates inside, four of them holding each of their female captive's limbs as she lay naked on the bed, fighting desperately to get away. At the foot of the bed, directly below the vent Jek was looking through was a Trandoshan with yellow scales and his dick hanging out of his pants. He stepped forward, clearing Jek's path to the ground and Jek dropped, instantly shooting two of the pirates holding the girl down, freeing her hands. When she lunged for one of the ones holding her feet, however, she was punched by that pirate, knocking her out. At the same time, when Jek shot the other pirate, the Trandoshan spun, slamming his tail into Jek's hands before kicking him and throwing him into the wall. Jek reached for his electrostaff, only for the remaining pirate to catch him, instantly pinning him to the ground.
"Well well, a boy," the Trandoshan smirked. "You're not half bad, you know. I could use someone with your skill in my crew."
"Boss," the pirate restraining him said. "I saw this kid when I worked for Ohnaka before I joined your crew. He works for Damian."
"Damian?" the Trandoshan asked. "I see. Forget what I said. You'll be much more valuable as bait."
"I'm surprised you recognize me," Jek said. "I sure as hell don't recognize you. However, you're right about me working for Damian. And you know what he taught me?"
"What's that?" the Trandoshan asked.
"Never start a fight without a plan," Jek said, his free hand tossing a round ball of metal to the middle of the room.
The Trandoshan and the pirate both shouted in surprise, recoiling from the ball as Jek curled into a ball, covering his ears and closing his eyes. Then, the flashbang went off and Jek grit his teeth, opening his eyes and pushing himself up, staggering to the bed and helping the girl up, the girl having woken up when the flashbang went off. They both ran out of the room instantly, Jek leading her by the hand toward the hangar. After a few seconds, Jek's head was clear and he glanced back, seeing the Trandoshan step into the hallway and roar, a couple dozen pirates bursting out of the galley a moment later, all of them charging after Jek and the woman. Jek turned back to the front just as a pirate stepped out of a door they were about to reach and Jek slammed a punch into his face, dropping him and pausing long enough to arm one of his thermal detonators before he and the girl he had rescued continued.
After about ten seconds, it exploded and he heard several shouts of pain. Then, they burst through a door into the hangar and sprinted for the Wrait just as the door opened again, blaster bolts beginning to flash past them rapidly.
"Jek!" Damian shouted, leaping off of the Wraith and reaching Jek and the girl, beginning to deflect any blaster bolts that were heading toward them, backing up after them quickly.
Then, blaster bolts began to fly back at the pirates from the Wraith's ramp and Damian turned, running onto it, passing Shaeeah and Nala, who were giving him cover fire, along with several of the marauders they had rescued. Damian punched the close button and the ramp began to rise. As it did, the Trandoshan from earlier burst out of the ranks of his pirates and sprinted at the ship.
"Oh jesus, this guy?" Damian said, drawing his own blaster and dropping the Trandoshan.
Then, a second before the ramp was all the way closed, a single shot slipped through the opening, sparking against the ramp before hitting Nala in the chest.
"Nala!" Barriss shouted, catching her as she began to fall backward, then freezing. "Nala?"
Nala remained silent, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling, a ghost of a smile still on her lips. Barriss began to sob and Damian stared at the ground for a moment before looking to Shaeeah.
"Find her something to wear," Damian said, nodding toward the girl Jek had saved, who was covered by only her hands at the moment.
Shaeeah nodded and led her out of the room quickly. Damian knelt beside Barriss, who was cradling Nala, sobbing hard. Damian pulled her into a hug and Barriss began to sob into his shoulder. After a moment, he stood, leading her out of the room as well, taking her to the bridge, where Ahsoka was piloting them away from the frigate. Ahsoka turned to them instantly and gave Damian a questioning look before understanding spread through her. Damian sat down, holding Barriss in his lap as she sobbed. After a while, she eventually managed to stop and moved to her own seat, busying herself by running diagnostics on the ship. Finally, a knock sounded from the door and Damian stood, opening the door to find the girl Jek had saved. She was young, probably a year or two younger than Jek, with curly red hair and a splash of freckles. She was pretty, and had the bearing of a leader, which Damian guessed she was.
"I thank you for answering our distress signal," the girl said. " My name's Enfys Nest. We don't have much to give you, but, as promised, you can have some of our coaxium."
"How much do you have?" Damian asked.
"Just under a hundred keys," Enfys said. "We can only give you twenty five, though. We need the rest."
"What for?" Damian asked.
"We're transporting it to someone," Enfys said. "Senator Bail Organa."
Damian stared at her before a smile grew on his face. He shook his head. "Can you believe that?"
"That's borderline fate," Ahsoka smiled.
"What are you talking about?" Enfys asked.
"We work for Organa," Damian said. "Whatever Coaxium you gave us we were going to give him."
"You work for Organa?" Enfys asked. "I see. That's lucky, then. What do you do?"
"We're...well..." Damian trailed off, looking to the others unsurely.
"We're spies," Barriss said. "Rebels."
"I see," Enfys nodded. "I'm glad my group aren't the only rebels then."
Damian nodded. "I agree. Anyway, you and your crew can make yourselves at home, at least, as much as you're able. We'll be back to Alderaan in about a day, so until then, I guess you're our guests."
Enfys bowed slightly. "Thank you. We won't cause any trouble."
"Oh don't worry about that," Damian chuckled. "We find plenty of trouble on our own. We can handle anything you guys could manage."
Enfys nodded and turned, leaving the room. Once she had, Damian turned back to the front, sighing and settling in for the flight.
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