MANY YEARS AGO
"That's it Ulie thats it." Ulie's mother said to him as she knelt in front of her youngest son, he was wearing a long teal tunic with brown pants and in front of him was a ball hovering a few feet above the floor of their home. His mother's bright brown eyes were full of wonder and pride as her son had his small hands reached out toward the ball walking toward it but every time he walked forward the ball moved ahead of him. The house room was a play room of sorts, various toys and plushies of rancor's and wookiee were laid across the floor as Ulic-Nox's mom cheered him on.
Ulic's blonde hair was tied up in a small braid behind his head as he giggled and smiled seeing the ball float in front of him. At the edge of the doorway a young Macross looked into the room with envy wearing a pale yellow shirt and shorts digging his nails into the doorway.
"What are we doing?" Someone said behind Macross making the brown haired boy jump out of his own skin to see Landon standing behind him in an apron holding a broom. Ladon looked out across the doorway into the playroom to see Ulic almost fall for his mom to catch the toddler, the ball bounced on the floor rolling to the lizard and older brother as Ulic-Nox's mom hoisted him in the air "You did it, you can use the force, yes!" The mom said hugging him close kissing Ulic on the cheek.
Macross poked his head behind Ladons leg before he turned around and ran down the hallway, Ladon picked up the ball and sighed shaking his head before he followed Ulic's older brother.
Walking down the hallway he entered into the living room, various furniture was adorning the room along with the heads of slain beasts, a blaster rifle hung over the fireplace and painting above it. Ladon sniffed the air and looked to see Macross was huddled in a corner between the sofa and an armchair. Ladon sat down in the chair and laid his brooms down fumbling with the ball in his claws.
"Sssomething eating you youngling?" Ladon asked him, the trandoshan was holding a duster for cleaning sand had a few stains on his apron.
"No go away." Macross hissed.
"I think I'll stay thisss isss my favorite chair to nap in." Ladon said suddenly falling asleep and snoring so loud Macross fought the urge to giggle "Ah-ha there's a sssmile." Ladon said springing from his sleep spell to lean over the chair.
He tossed the ball to Macross who caught it "You jealous of your little brother, don't deny it."
"I'm not, it's just…. it's not fair, he can use the force I can't." Macross said squeezing the ball.
"You don't know that." Ladon told him, Macross jumped to his feet in an fury "Yes I do, my mother told me she said I'd never be able to use it."
Ladon clawed at his scaled chin scratching off dead skin "Hmmm, good then you don't worry about it anymore."
"What?" Macross asked him.
Ladon sat up leaning toward him "I'd rather know I'd never have sssomething then alwaysss waiting to see if I would, thisss way you can learn what your giftsss are."
Macross looked at him cinkling his left brow in visible confusion "But but but the force is-" "Isss sssomething trillions of people do without every day, I do and so does your da."
"B-but Dads got guards to protect him he doesn't need it." Macross said looking over at a holographic picture of their father on the mantle above the fireplace.
Ladon shrugged "Ulic-Nox doesn't have guardsss, he's just a youngling."
"But he'll get bigger." Macross said.
"True, but so will you." Ladon said getting up he didn't pick up his broom though, merely picked Macross up from the floor.
"He'll need you to protect him until he's strong enough to do it himself, you understand?" The trandoshan asked Macross "But how?"
Ladon reached into the folds of his apron and pulled out a blaster "With thisss, come on time to learn how to shoot."
He handed the blaster to Macross so he could get the feel of it "But what if I'm not there?"
"Then letsss hope he's ssstrong enough."
PRESENT, DANTOOINE
Ladon's vision was blurry from the harsh wind and spitting rain starting to covered the ruins, the burning light of a blue lightsaber locked with a purple one burning into his pupils as he started to see Ulic-Nox was crossing swords with Anakin, before the Jedi could land the final blow on the now one armed Ladon. Getting to a knee Ladon looked at Ulic-Nox's back panting "Ulic- no."
"Shut up, get to the Nightingale." Ulic barked at him not taking his eyes off Anakin.
"Neither of you are going anywhere." Anakin said breaking off the boy's guard by wrestling his blade to get underneath Ulic's making the boy backed up a step toward Ladon who was almost off the ledge.
Obi-Wan came up from behind Anakin on the other side of the plateau and his face was filled with visible shock when he saw the boy holding the lightsaber, composing himself he turned his on and rushed up to join Anakin. Leo aimed his sword at him too with both hands locked tight around the ancient lightsaber. It was bound in leather at the hilt with three spikes like blades around the hilt jutting up above the emitter caked in rust. Teeseven who was hiding at the edge peeked out at him scanning the lightsaber sudden lights blinking and something inside the droid starting to tick.
"Stand down and neither will be harmed." Obi-Wan told them before he saw Ladon was missing an arm "Well at least not anymore then you already have." He said shooting Anakin a glare.
Ulic didn't budge from his spot noire did he deactivate the lightsaber, "Get back!" Ulic said swinging his lightsaber at the two Jedi who were inching closer and closer.
Anakin took one hand off his lightsaber and raised it "Stand-down son, we don't want to hurt you." Anakin asked trying to reason with him, when he got Ulic-Nox's attention Obi-Wan saw a chance to end this quickly without any fighting. Using the force he tried to wrench Ulic-Nox's lightsaber from his from his grasp but he didn't let go when his arms were yanked forward, the boys grey eyes glazed over for a split second and he yelled breaking his grip on his lightsaber flailing out both arms and before either Jedi could sense it they were hit with an unleashed force repulse that knocked both men off their feet and into the grassy mud. Almost collapsing himself if Ladon had caught him, Ulic-Nox gasped for air too return to his lungs.
Back with the two Jedi, Anakin groaned getting to his feet "Alright no more mister nice jedi."
Obi-Wan also getting up gazed back Ulic-Nox then to Anakin "We need to be wary of Anakin, there's no telling what he'll do next."
"Then we end this quickly." Anakin said turning his lightsaber back on and running at them, "Anakin no."
Ladon saw the jedi charging toward them and so did Ulic who pushed Ladon off and raised his lightsaber to defend them both "Ladon, run!". Anakin brought his lightsaber down like a sledgehammer stronger and fiercer than the boy Ulic had to parry and side step to not get cleaved in two. Anakin went on the attack forcing Ulic-Nox's feet to fumble backwards as he did his best to not even block but dodge the clearly superior swordsman's strikes.
Grabbing onto the nub that was an arm, Ladon saw Obi-Wan at the same time and reaching behind his back and Ladon pulled out a long knife and growled at the Jedi to beckon him forward. Obi-Wan walked toward him enguarde "Surrender bounty hunter."
"Haven't been a hunter for a long time Jeedai." Ladon said before he ran toward him "But I still know how to fight JEEDAI!"
Back with Ulic versus Anakin, Ulic fell back into the mud slipping before rolling over back top his feet hunched over backing up from an already pissed off Anakin "You don't deserve to hold that lightsaber thief."
Ulic-Nox shrugged "Probably, but do deserve yours?"
The boy ran at Anakin and swung at him on high, Anakin slid back and swatted the attack away with one hand, Ulic tried again this time from the left which Anakin caught and brought back his free hand to strike Ulic-Nox in the face. Ulic staggered back spitting blood "You can take a hit I'll give you that thief."
Tasting his own blood, something awakened in Ulic-Nox when Anakin saw his eyes, instead of the fear of boy he saw fire.
"There was a time when the Galaxy was prospered, a time when Jedi were champions of the people." Ulic-Nox drew back his lightsaber and swung but turned off the blade when Anakin tried to catch his blow, rolling forward, Ulic turned it on again this time Anakin caught it.
"When the jedi fought for the people no hunted us." Ulic dropped low and swung his leg at the Jedi's feet. Jumping out of the way Anakin landed to see Ulic-Nox's open palm in his face, "Bla-" and was blasted across the plateau again by Ulic-Nox's insane power this time almost off the edge if Anakin hadn't driven his metal hand into the mud and rock to hold himself there.
"We only hunt bad guys and criminals like you." Anakin said not letting the boys words faze him. Ulic looked over at a stone buried in the ground and reached out with his fingertips the stone freed itself from the earth's embrace and soared at Anakin who sliced it in twade with his own lighstaber.
Rather then dismay Anakin smiled seeing it be a challenge "Impressive, most impressive but you are not a jedi." Anakin said raising his own hand, the wind shifted heading toward Ulic-Nox who felt more was coming, and it did Anakin started to push Ulic-Nox back towards the edge his boots unable to get traction "If your what a jedi is, I'd rather not be one at all."
Ulic drove his lightsaber into the mud but that didn't work either. Then he held his hand down on the ground and grabbed it with the force to hold himself there for a few moments he didn't move but Anakin turned his open palm upside down cupping the ground around Ulic-Nox's feet. The earth began to tremble before Ulic-Nox could let Anakin do it. He jumped to see the place where he was standing was ripping out of the ground and blasted off the cliff behind him.
Anakin snickered taking up his lightsaber again ready to resume the duel, Ladon and Obi-Wan on the other hand hadn't even drawn first blood. They were still encircling each other "Why did you come here, what was inside the Temple that was so valuable?" Obi-Wan asked.
"For the lightsaber, jedi hunting him he needs something to even the playing field." Ladon told him over the harsh winds holding his severed arm.
Obi-Wan narrowed his glare at the lizard "How did you know it was here, who put it there?" Obi-Wan asked before Ladon pounced swiping with his blade, spinning it back and forth from front to backhand grips. The trandoshans long reach and almost paranormal speed made it hard for Obi-Wan to dodge even with the force on his side.
"Nobody who concerns you Jedi." Ladon spat back, but Obi-Wan's famous wit said otherwise "Well considering I am a Jedi like you say, that lightsaber is a Jedis weapon and it was in a jedi temple it does concern me." Obi-Wan used the force to knock Ladon off his feet down into the mud holding his lightsaber over him.
Across from them Ulic was still trying to survive Anakin's onslaught. They locked lightsaber again this time Anakin was smiling toying with the boy. "Not that this hasn't been fun and you show some potential, give up now and it'll hurt less."
Ulic-Nox looked up at Anakin from behind his lightsaber his eyes petrified with fear and in flight or fight, defiance took over finding the strength to push Anakin away with his lightsaber. Unamused by this Anakin came at him again quicker and stronger then before he hit the boy from all sides punishing him back before Anakin kicked him square in the chest throwing Ulic-Nox down knocking the lightsaber from his hand.
"Give up, you can't win." Anakin declared not pushing his advantage as he already had it in everything about this duel.
Ulic-Nox coughed from the wind getting knocked out of him and crawled to the lightsaber gasping grabbing the lightsaber and getting up to face Anakin again. He ran at him swinging but Anakin just knocked his lightsaber away
He turned on the lightsaber once more the purple laser illuminating his half mud covered face, "Alright, sorry about this kid." Anakin lowered his lightsaber and raised his right hand in a claw. Ulic-Nox felt an invisible hand squeezed around his neck keeping his, in the back of his gaze Ladon saw Ulic was in trouble and was about to run over to rescue him but Obi-Wan stood between the two.
"Stay down now." Obi-Wan ordered over the storm winds, "No" replied getting up weakly.
All four of them could feel the storm was almost on them, but none of them heard the engines of the Nightingale as it raised itself up from below the plateau in front of them. Its headlights were on shining down on them with the weapon systems heating up steaming on the cannons from the rain, Buur sat in the co-pilot/gunner seat up front "Fire." Hestia told him.
"With pleasure." Buur opened fire unleashing a barrage of cannon fire onto the plateau ripping the earth and stone to pieces straight for Anakin. He dropped Ulic and raised his is lightsaber to defend himself from the sudden attack, but at such a short distance and with only a lightsaber Anakin was low from the ground with Obi-Wan forced to take his attention away from Ladon, an advantage the trandoshan capitalized on he swung his foot at Obi-Wans to make the jedi stagger almost losing his footing. Rather then attack Ladon rushed toward a coughing Ulic in the mud picking him up by his vest.
"On your feet Ulic." Ladon told him, Ladon grabbed onto the trandoshan by his clothes clawing to his feet toward the ship that hovered just over the plateau to lower its ramp.
Ulic looked back at Obi-Wan running for cover from the blaster fire as Anakin got back up dusting himself off. "No." Anakin snapped getting up to try and get to them before the Nightingale's loading ramp could drop.
"Oh no you don't." Buur said turning the guns on Skywalker.
Anakin dodged the blaster shots and kept getting closer "Tee… Teeseven!" Ulic shouted out looking around for the droid. Teeseven speeded toward them from behind the rocks and used its rockets to jump over the gap in the plateau as the ramp lowered.
"You next." Ladon told Ulic when he saw Anakin coming up behind them. Ulic saw him to and pushed Ladon out of the way back onto ramp and turned on his lightsaber. Anakin dodged rolling forward and ignited his blue lightsaber and stuck it out to parry the next blow but it didn't find Ulic-Nox's lightsaber but rather the Ulic-Nox's lower torso.
Ulic-Nox looked down at the lightsaber sticking in and out to him his own raised over head "ULIC!" Ladon screamed as Anakin turned off his lightsaber "No, no, no, no, no not like this." Anakin said horrified at what he'd just done backing away.
"Bastard!" Ladon screamed grabbing an emergency blaster from his boot and shooting at Anakin hitting him in his armored collar before Anakin's jedi training took over for him to deflect each blast. Ladon dropped the blaster and grabbed Ulic-Nox before the boy could fall between the gap between the gap between the ships ramp and the cliff pulling him in.
Ulic-Nox's hand had grabbed onto his stomach where the saber had gone in "L-Ladon…." Ulic coughed out onto the ramp floor. Teeseven came down and opening one of its small arms grabbed onto Ulic's collar trying to get him onboard.
"Do you have him, do you have ULIC!?" Hestia screamed in the ships commas "Just get us out of here, get us out of here now!" Ladon roared, pulling the boy close.
Hestia heard the panic in his voice and looked over her shoulder to see Beatnik come in "Get us out of here." She said before the ships doctor got up and ran back to the ships entrance to see Ladon struggling with him "Help me, help me now." Ladon snapped at her.
"Force…" Hestia said picking up Ulic from the almost dead Ladon "Save him doc…. pleassse save him…."
Ulic was hoisted over Hestia's shoulder as she dragged his feet into the ships medbay and dropped him on the bed, pulling his feet up she rolled up her sleeves before she and Ulic almost were flung from where they were. "Beatnik keep it steady!" She screamed. The Nightingale was flying right through the storm lighting and harsh wind trying to knock the ship out of the sky, aboard it Hestia pulled straps over Ulic-Nox to keep him on the bed as she took out the medkit to try and save Ulic-Nox from the injuries.
Back on the surface Anakin watched the ship fly away getting smaller and smaller in the distance "Ahsoka, bring the Twilight around now." Anakin ordered before he hurried over to Obi-Wan who was dusting himself off.
"Are you alright Master?" Anakin asked.
"Fine Anakin how are you, I saw what happened." Obi-Wan told him grabbing Anakin by the shoulder "Master I was trying to disable him I… I didn't mean to- Ahsoka where are you?" Anakin said trying to avoid the conversation and get back to the pursuit.
"Ahsoka come in, where is she?"
Meanwhile the Nightingale had broken out into the upper atmosphere breaking the gravity well of the world into the black void filled with stars. Beatnik started to look around and said something in Jawa "You know where the hyperdrive is right?" Buur asked him.
The Jawa snapped at Buur suddenly "I thought you knew how to fly it weren't you and Macross close he had to let you fly?" Buur asked. Teeseven came in suddenly as they started to argue throwing insults at one another then the droid plugged into the ships port and started to run its computer on its own. When Buur and Beatniks were about to shoot each other they jumped into hyperspace.
"We're clear, repeat we've made it to hyperspace but I got no idea where, the droid punched in some coordinates I've never read before?" Buur said into his headsets earpiece to the rest of the ship. Ladon heard him on his spot in the floor and staggered to rise to his feet exhausted and wounded holding his arm, when he was upright holding onto his nub he walked into the main room of the Nightingale with the holotable, it had various chairs and couches around the table complete with other decorations on the walls mostly spray paint and wanted posters of all the crew except Ulic's.
Ladon found a seat and took it as Buur and Beatnik came in behind Teeseven "Stars." Buur said in shock gapping seeing the one armed trandoshan who swung both legs up to the other side of the couch "Good ssshooting Buur…. damn good."
Buur's black eyes softened and he returned to a smug smirk "Yeah well can't let you be the only one taking on jeedai you pooda for brains."
"Teessseven, where are you taking usss?" Ulic-Nox asked the droid who hesitated to answer before it beeped out at him, Ladon's eyes grew hazy when he heard it and he sighed "What he say, where are we going?" Buur asked.
"Somewhere I hoped never to go again, alright Buur take inventory of every weapon we have, Beatnik make sure the Nightingale is in top shape for what comes next." Ladon ordered trying to sit up, Buur gave a grunt before walking away to another part of the ship Beatnik stayed and started to say something in Jawa.
Groaning with his teeth barred Ladon shook his head "I can barely understand you, slowly please?"
Beatnik pointed behind him toward one of the rooms in the ship "You WHAT!"
Ladon got to his scaled feet and the Jawa backed off a few steps before starting to argue with him as Ladon snarled and snapped his fangs getting toward him. Meanwhile in the medbay Hestia was wearing a set of bloodied gloves with a cloth around her face as she stitched up Ulic-No. Hestia looked at Ulic then at the a medical device showing damage inside, the boy was heavily sedated with his body strapped to the operating board his shirt was torn open so she could operate more quickly and most of his wounds had bacta pads and wraps on them except for the one that Anakin had stabbed him she was looking at via the x ray.
"No, no, no, no, Macorss please don't take'em yet I know you miss him but please not yet." she started to try and stitch up the wound with bacta running over to a drawer and taking out a syringe and stuck it into a vial before she hurried back over and stuck him with it. When the machine said he was stable she sighed "Thanks Macross."
Hestia pulled her ask down and started to take off her gloves when she heard a loud bang outside the medbay. She came running out into the main room to see Ladon holding Beatnik up against the wall ready to rip his hooded face off with his claws "You sleemo echuta scruffy nerf herder do you have any idea what you've done!?"
The Arkannian offshoot looked at the two of them at Buur in the opposite doorway watching leaning against the wall "Stop them." She snapped "What's the fun in that?" Buur asked smirking.
The doctor walked up to Ladon "What the hell is going on now?" She asked.
"This stupid Jawa couldn't follow simple orders and like the little scavenger he is he took a prize!" Ladon snapped dropping the Jawa on the cold metal floor. He picked up his hat and spat some Jawa insults in Ladon's face.
Before they could tear each other to pieces Hestia got between them "What prize?"
Ladon and the Jawa froze at her intrusion "Show'em."
Beatnik lead the four crew members down the hallways of the nightingale to a locked door that he opened and all three of them, except for Teeseven who had no jaw; had their jaws dropped at what they saw, tied up and gagged on the floor out cold was Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Padawan and more trouble for them.
Hestia knitted her eyebrows with her fingers before she looked down at Beatnik "Buur as a doctor I am honor bound to do no harm so please, so hit this Jawa so hard he blacks out Ladon lets go try figure this out." She said before locking the door.
Buur snickered cracking his knuckles "Now you're mine Jawa."
Beatnik cocked his hooded and hatted head before he reached into his back and took out two pairs of bronze knuckles and beaconed the advoze mercenary to come and get a taste.
As the two of them started to fight, back in the bridge Hestia and Ladon had taken seats in the car "Let me take a look at that arm." Hestia said taking out a kneeled of bacta fluid from her surgeons coat. She sat Ladon down and he let her administrate the bacta into his arm numbing it, he winced at first feeling the prick of the needle but it subsided in a few seconds.
"So did you find what you guys were looking for, I hope so." Hestia asked the trandoshan.
"We did Doc, but a lightsaber and the compass crystal won't keep him safe." Ladon said looking into the swirling blue void of hyperspace.
Hestia took one of the cockpit seats next to him and leaned over "Can we?" She asked him, shaking her head "How is he by the way?" Ladon asked her.
"Bad... really bad, the ligthsaber ripped up his stomach, spin's nearly severed..." Hestia told him leaning back and crossing her arms "We can't loose both of them, not like this."
"We're pushing it, now more than ever with where Teeseven has sent us but that may help us" Ladon said still gazing at the hyperspace with dread in both eyes.
Hestia raised her head toward it and didn't even need to ask "This is good, this can work they can heal up but do you really think they can protect him?"
"Maybe, but who will protect him from them, these people are can be just as bad as Jedi." Ladon said, behind them the two heard Buur walk in he had a swollen black eye and was bleeding from his lip from his scuffled with Beatnik who was out cold somewhere on the ship.
Grumbling the mercenary found himself a seat on the bridge "So…. not be in the dark but where are we going?"
"You lied to those jedi right about being a hired gun right?" Ladon asked Buur, the mercenary was fiddling with something in his mouth using his tongue before he spat out some blood on the floor "Of course."
Ladon took in a deep breath "The Order of Revan, they'll give us sanctuary but when we get there they may not let Ulic leave or us leave with our lives."