A trustworthy stranger
- Zaalbar -
"(Mission,)" I complained. "(This whole plan is foolhardy.)" It was. It was. Concern sat heavy in my chest. I understood the need to locate this powerful and foreign Star Map, but did Jen really require Mission to travel with them? I had heard all the reasons, and I did not deny that my young friend had many skills, but surely a warren of dark caves inhabited by fearsome monsters was not the place for a Twi'lek pup?
Mission glanced up at me from the datapad she was tinkering with. She was sitting in the cargo bay, surrounded by a pile of equipment that included light-sticks, retractable plysteel ropes, bio-scanners, and a half dozen energy bars. Although the Mandalorian had procured some of it, the rest had come from my inventory of the Ebon Hawk's supplies. That profligate, degenerate human Davik Kang had certainly been a hoarder.
"Sheesh, Big Z, the day you don't complain about me going somewhere, I'll know something's really up," Mission said. A pair of night vision goggles rested on the top of her head, and her utility belt was full. My young charge was impatient to run out into danger, while I was forced to stay behind.
Jen had been resolute, though, and her eyes had glinted with determined leadership. This was not the same helpless human I'd worried over in Tatooine, and I wasn't sure if it was the same reckless one I'd life-sworn myself to back on Taris. Jen carried herself with a self-possession that had been lacking before, and there was no doubt whom was carrying the mission. If and when Bastila Shan fully recovered, I doubted that the Jedi would be able to wrest control once more.
The enigmatic Jen Sahara worried me. I did not know all that she was encountering in the madclaw Academy that she and the Cathar were attending, and it frustrated me that my strength and my abilities were of no use to her there. If only Bastila Shan was back at her full strength. The experienced Jedi would surely be able to even the odds, but it seemed her injury from Manaan was more damaging than anyone had foreseen.
I sighed noisily, and Mission shot me a quick grin. It was good to see the humour restored to my ebullient young friend after her encounter a few days ago. She would not divulge details of what had occurred, but someone within Dreshdae had sorely frightened her. And Mission was not one to scare easily, much to my dismay. Of course, if she had listened to me and stayed within the confines of the Ebon Hawk, it would not have happened. But all what-ifs do is tie a kshyyy vine around your neck. I may desire to say I-told-you-so like a petulant human, but I knew what little effect it would have on my young friend.
"It'll be fine, Big Z. Canderous and HK are pretty tough, y'know. The 'scanners will pick up anything well in advance, and Jen'll be able to draw the rancor things well away. Frankly, I think she's in more danger than us."
That didn't reassure me. Jen Sahara was capable, fierce, and a Force-user; yet sometimes I worried she over-estimated herself as much as Mission did. I recalled the rancor in the sewers with a frown, and the thought of a monster like that, but larger and venomous, was more than just unnerving. But Jen Sahara is quick. Unnaturally so. If there is any sentient who can succeed in this dark place, it would be her. For I did have faith in Jen, despite my concern for her well-being. And since her return to Manaan, she had been acting with honour. Jen Sahara was, once more, someone worthy of the lifedebt I had vowed.
The unknown Jedi comatose in the medbay was an attestation to that. For all of Jen's worry about the additional risks, she had done a brave and honourable deed.
I glanced back to Mission, sprawled out on the durasteel floor, looking entirely at home surrounded by gadgets and equipment. She was a wonder, my young friend, intelligent and irrepressible and generous, all qualities which should have been snuffed out by her early life in the dregs of the Lower City. Behind her, in an unceremonious pile of plysteel and alloy mesh, lay a variety of armour suits that I had been slowly modifying or dismembering, depending on its condition. I spotted a panel of blue-and-white peeping out from underneath, and frowned.
"(Mission,)" I said, walking over to the stockpile. "(You have not worn that exoskeleton again. It is good protection, and I do not like to see you without any form of armour.)"
Mission scowled as I hefted up the remnants of Calo Nord's battle suit. It was a good fit for her, now, but I could not shake the feeling that she blamed it for whatever had occurred in Dreshdae.
"Fine," she groused, coming forward to talking it from my clutches. "I suppose it's better than nothing."
It was a superior piece of armour, even disregarding whatever Force-resistance it was purported to have. Mission was still pouting, but allowed me to assist her in equipping it.
"Come on, ladies!" Canderous Ordo bellowed from deeper in the ship. "It's time to move out!"
Mission's head tilted up at the yell, and the gleam in her eyes was too excited for my liking.
"(Be safe,)" I grumbled. "(I will see you out.)"
In a flurry of excitement, my young charge stuffed the datapad in her belt and grabbed a couple of ration bars. The Mandalorian and the human Carth Onasi trailed into the cargo bay then, and the Republic pilot handed Mission a wrist communicator.
"Stay in constant communication," Carth said, his eyes dark with concern. "I'll be tracking you all from the cockpit. I've even put one on that damn robot-"
"Statement: I will be most pleased to inform you of every bat I kill, Paranoid Has-Been."
I growled softly as HK-47 entered, followed by his master. I did not like that robot, and judging by Carth Onasi's expression he felt the same. I could not help but lay part of the blame of Jen Sahara's wild escape on Manaan towards that evil piece of machinery. I had seen many droids in my life, and none set my hackles rising quite like this one.
"Jettison. Air-lock. One day soon," Carth threatened through gritted teeth.
"We need all the help we can muster, Carth," Jen said, but her smirk gave away her enjoyment at his discomfort. He shot her an unimpressed look.
Canderous Ordo hefted a pack over his shoulder, and jerked his head towards the exit hatch. Within minutes, Carth Onasi and I were standing on the loading ramp, watching the others traipse out of the docking bay. Jen was at the rear of the group, and turned to face us one last time.
"Keep that hatch closed," Jen said quietly. An intense, faraway look clouded her eyes, and I could see she was already thinking ahead. "Keep Teethree plugged into the 'cams for surveillance. And-" she broke off, sighing. "We'll be back before you know it."
"This is becoming too familiar," Carth muttered.
"But I always come back, right?" Jen quipped, shooting us a last grin and wave, before turning to follow the rest of them. I howled quietly as the docking bay door closed behind her. Staying on the Ebon Hawk, leaving my friends to stroll into unknown danger, was more than just unpalatable. I heard a pent-up sigh behind me, and turned to see Carth Onasi looking at me in understanding.
"Yeah," he muttered, raking a hand through his hair. "We get the fun jobs. I'd better get into the cockpit and bring up the comms."
"(I will check on the stabilizers first before coming inside,)" I told him. Jen had impressed upon us all the likelihood of a swift exit from Korriban, and I would make sure the Ebon Hawk was ready. T3-M4 had already completed all the necessary pre-flight checks as well as organizing a refuelling, but I would not miss an opportunity to check the outside of the hull. As highly useful as the astromech droid was, most of his circuitry had been utilized in constant monitoring of the exterior surveillance cameras, to spot any stranger approaching without our knowledge. This had become paramount since Jen's warning about the Dark Jedi who had ambushed them on Manaan.
Carth Onasi looked at me without comprehension, and I loosed a brief huff of air. Wookiees did not have the vocal chords to make the guttural, awkward sounds of Galactic Basic, and both Carth Onasi's and Canderous Ordo's lack of understanding of my tongue was exactly what pinned me to guard duty, here, while my erstwhile young friend went frolicking off into danger.
I motioned around the ship, hoping to convey my intent to the Republic pilot. He gave a brief nod of acknowledgement.
"I'll leave the hatch open while you do… er, whatever it is you need to do. Don't be long, okay? We've got one sleeping Jedi and one comatose one in here."
I grunted as he headed back inside, bending under the ship to have a cursory scan. Carth Onasi did not have to remind me of my responsibility. I wondered about the new Jedi, and what complications she would bring to our endeavour. If this one could be sufficiently healed, then perhaps she would make a worthy ally for Jen Sahara and Mission.
Yet currently both this stranger and Bastila Shan were out of commission. Alone, asleep, and wholly vulnerable. And the underside of the Ebon Hawk looked clean, so perhaps any more intensive checks could wait. It would be better to stay inside whilst we were few onboard.
The swish of the docking bay door opening made me straighten in surprise, crunch my head on the hull, and howl in annoyance. I backed out and turned around, expecting to see one of the crew returning.
It was a stranger, and I glared balefully.
"(Go away,)" I ordered, waving the sentient off dismissively. It was an unknown woman dressed in the offensive uniform of a Czerka official, walking slowly towards the Ebon Hawk. She was human - maybe part-Mirialan judging by the yellowing skin, although she bore no facial tattoos – and decidedly not welcome.
"Pardon me," she said in Galactic Basic. "We have a couple of docking queries." The Czerka official had bound dark hair, and eerie yellow eyes that matched her skin. Unusual, for a human, and again I suspected her ancestry was mixed.
"(Czerka filth!)" I roared. "(You should not be here!)"
A brief, calculating look crossed the woman's face, before it dissolved into understanding. "Ah," she said quietly. "You are of the same mind as me, then. I despise Czerka, and wish I did not have to pose as one to help the Republic – but we must do all we can for the greater good."
I paused, befuddled, as she looked at me beseechingly. She understood Shyriiwook, which was surprising in itself. "I have been sent here as an agent for the Republic, but we cannot help in an overt fashion – not here, on this awful planet of the Sith. Perhaps-" and now a knowing look crossed her face. "Why don't you get Jen Sahara to come and meet me? She knows me well and can vouch for my sincerity."
"(Jen Sahara is not here,)" I answered, taking a step back towards the loading ramp. Her words sounded genuine, and yet I felt suspicious. Somehow, she looked like she had expected that answer.
"Oh, that is a shame," she replied dolefully, her eyes fixed on mine. I found it hard to break the gaze. "My name is Aramai. The Republic wishes to help the Ebon Hawk as much as we are able, in particular Bastila Shan since she suffered such a grievous injury on Manaan."
"(Bastila Shan is resting,)" I said sharply, and then frowned. I should not have acknowledged Bastila's presence, I realized, as I stared into those alien yellow eyes.
The woman inclined her head. "You can trust me, Zaalbar. I want only to help. My allegiance is with the Republic, and with Jen Sahara." Her words were strangely compelling. I frowned. She was a stranger.
But if there was any chance this could be true, then it would be fortuitous indeed. We needed all the help we could get. I could feel my brows lowering in suspicion, even as her gaze pinned mine like a tach under a spear. "(And how do you propose to help?)" I howled, feeling vaguely annoyed.
She smiled, looking somewhat abashed. "I am a mere medic for the Republic, so I do not have the skills you need. But Bastila does, if only she were at her full strength. And that is where I can help, Zaalbar. I am expertly trained in the matters of psychic healing, and if I can do anything to assist the crew of the Ebon Hawk then it would be to all our benefit."
Her words had a coercion to them that I longed to believe in, for Bastila Shan was a powerful Jedi indeed. If she were awake and well, then Mission would not have to run off into danger.
"I can help, Zaalbar," she said softly. "You must trust me." Her yellow eyes were bright and genuine and true. The words seemed to sink into my very mind, and I felt a slight release of the worry that was dogging me. Bastila had answers that Jen required. Bastila had strength that we all needed. If this part-human could help…
My paw was resting on the solid durasteel hull, and I still had a desire to turn around and enter the ship, and close the hatch firmly behind me. But it was difficult, so difficult, to break that yellow gaze. I found my thoughts wandering of their own volition, like someone else was lightly sifting through them, and I so dearly hoped that we would make it off Korriban, and perhaps not even need to go to Kashyyyk-
"With my assistance and Bastila's strength restored, your team can find what they need and you won't even be required to travel to Kashyyyk," the stranger murmured, as if picking up on my very thoughts. Her eyes tightened. "The Jedi are waiting there, are they not? If you can complete this mission and send them the results, then there should be no reason to travel there."
How does she know all this? I thought in alarm. How does she know my name?
"Commander Roland Wann from the Republic Embassy on Manaan sent me," she murmured. Roland Wann was the name of Carth Onasi's superior there, I recalled, even though I had only very briefly met him. The thought was immediately reassuring. "I have been told of you, Zaalbar, of your honour and your strength. The Republic wish to aid you in any way possible without alerting the Sith, so here I am. I can restore Bastila Shan." Her tone was earnest, very earnest, and I felt something like hope swell over my suspicion. My overriding desire was to see Jen Sahara and Mission safe, and if she could aid in that and halt the requirement to travel to Kashyyyk-
"The Republic worries for Jen Sahara's safety, without Bastila Shan's aid," Aramai murmured again. My brain seemed slow, fogged, but the intense need to trust this stranger was overwhelming. She held out a hand, and I glanced down at it briefly, my gaze catching on a hypoderm, before the pull back to her enigmatic gaze proved too hard to resist.
"This will lull Bastila into a deep recuperative sleep that will accelerate her healing, Zaalbar. You can help everyone, here."
Her words sounded true. They felt true. And yet I was uneasy. I wished that Jen Sahara was here. She would know what to do. "(How can I trust you?)" I howled in confusion.
She blinked, and then held the hypoderm up, twisting it to show the label. "Here," she said quietly. "It's medical grade Tystullinium. Well known for its mental healing properties."
The letters were meaningless to me. Mission had spent many hours on Taris attempting to teach me the written form of Galactic Basic, but learning to understand the spoken form had been enough for me.
"(I cannot read,)" I said hesitantly.
"Oh," Her face fell. Her gaze pinned me once more, and her words seemed overtly heavy. "I am so concerned that if Bastila does not regain her strength, then Jen Sahara will succumb to the dark side of the Force. Jen Sahara needs Bastila Shan." She was repeating herself, but her words were mesmerizing.
I could feel the fur on my arms standing on end. The strange part-human vocalized one of my deepest fears. Madclaw. It was as good a description of the Dark Side as anything else. And Jen Sahara had succumbed once. Aramai's gaze was still boring into my own.
"We cannot win against the evil of the Sith if Jen Sahara falls, Zaalbar." She paused, and her next words were slow and carefully enunciated. "Take it, Zaalbar. Help Bastila, inject her with this, and then bring her to me. I can examine her right here, in your docking bay where she is safe, and heal her. Everything will be better, you will see."
My paw began to lift of its own accord, and Aramai smiled, still gazing at me intently. She dropped the hypoderm into my grasp.
"Go," she commanded in a deep, authoritative voice. "Inject Bastila. Bring her to me. Help Bastila Shan and help Jen Sahara." The words sunk deep into my very bones, and the periphery of my vision darkened.
I had entered the Ebon Hawk without realizing it, walking along the chrome corridor towards the pilot's quarters on auto-pilot. It was a relief, actually, to be able to trust a stranger that would aid us all. The risks we were taking – Jen Sahara in particular – were frequent and concerning.
As I neared Bastila Shan, I could hear Carth Onasi talking over the communicator in the cockpit. I felt a brief stirring of curiosity as to what the others were doing, before Aramai's words replayed themselves in my mind. Go. Inject Bastila. Bring her to me. Help Bastila Shan and help Jen Sahara. It would be so good to be of use once more!
The sleeping Jedi lay in front of me. Somehow, I had entered the room without being aware of it. Bastila's form was smaller than I remembered, slight and lean. She had had more flesh on her bones in Taris, and that was after being imprisoned by that bullying swoop gang.
I looked down at the hypoderm in my paw, once again assailed with doubt. The letters printed on the side of the cylinder swam in my vision, but the first one looked like a 'T'. I recalled all those times Mission had me recite the Galactic alphabet, despite my irritation. Now, I only wished I had paid more attention to my young charge.
Go. Inject Bastila. Bring her to me. Help Bastila Shan and help Jen Sahara. The echo rebounded in my mind, and I leaned over, tugging at a threadbare blanket and exposing one of the human's pale limbs. Bastila was in such a deep sleep that she did not move, and I knew that Jen was concerned about her bond-mate. If this could help her, then it was the right thing to do.
With a grunt, I slowly turned Bastila's arm, and placed the hypoderm against the skin. It was a quick movement to inject it into her arm, and the Jedi twitched once in her sleep, before sighing and settling again. I hesitated, suddenly confused, and lowered my head to listen for her heartbeat.
It was there, strong and slow, like the Jedi was sleeping deeply. Exactly what the part-human Aramai had said. I felt a renewed sense of assurance, and gently lifted Bastila Shan in my arms. We would make her better, and she would be able to help Jen Sahara once more.
I was outside the Ebon Hawk without realizing it, like my movement had become primal with no thought to my environment. I blinked in the docking bay, not seeing the stranger at first, until she came into view. Had she been hiding? I thought in renewed suspicion.
She smiled at me, her gaze fixed on mine again. "Well done, Zaalbar. You have done the right thing," she murmured, her words compelling and true. I have done the right thing. "Let me see what can be done."
Aramai walked closer, and I felt strangely reluctant to unburden my precious cargo. Aramai did not look strong enough to carry her regardless, and I wondered exactly what this Republic agent could do, here, without any equipment or medication.
"I am skilled in psychic diagnosis and do not need equipment here," Aramai said calmly, as if picking up on my doubts. "You are not required to do anything, Zaalbar, just hold Bastila while I examine her." She raised a hand and made an indecipherable motion in the air.
"(Are you a Jedi?)" I asked warily, wondering what sort of power this medic wielded.
"No," she said, her voice going tight for a brief second. "No," she said again, but calmly this time. "My objectives are aligned with the Jedi Order, though, of course." She made a murmuring noise under her breath as her hand rested gently on Bastila's brow. "She is weaker than I suspected, Zaalbar, and her mind is greatly damaged."
"(Jen Sahara said she felt weak in the bond they share,)" I howled mournfully. "(What can we do?)"
But Aramai's hands had stilled, as she looked at me sharply. "Bond? What do you mean?"
I had the strange desire to explain all I knew to this Aramai. Somewhere, deep in the back of my mind, a faint howl sounded in anger, but it was overlaid with a fogginess that slowed my very thoughts. "(Bastila Shan and Jen Sahara share a Force bond. I do not understand it fully, but they can communicate over great distances, and aid each other through the Force.)"
I sensed, rather than saw, Aramai's mouth drop open, as I was still fixated on her eerie yellow eyes. "A Force bond," she whispered. "How unusual… how interesting."
A feeling of discomfort, like I had released a secret of vast import, assaulted me suddenly, and my grip on Bastila Shan tightened. Is this the correct course of action? I wondered suddenly. Can this strange woman really be trusted?
"You can trust me, Zaalbar," Aramai said firmly. "This is the correct course of action." I was once more reassured. I barely noticed the docking bay or any of my environs, so focussed was I on the part-human standing in front of me. "It is a good thing you have told me, for it explains Bastila's mental exhaustion. I know how to help her now, Zaalbar, and you can assist me."
"(Is the bond a danger to her? To Jen Sahara?)" I asked suddenly.
Aramai hesitated at that question. "Perhaps it explains her injury. I must get her to my medical tank, Zaalbar, and we can revive her fully. It is not far from here. Come with me."
My foot lifted with no overt command from my brain, but paused in the air. Deep, deep in the back of my mind I felt a discontent buffer against the cloud of trust I held for the woman.
"You can trust me, Zaalbar," the woman said again, and as I stared deep into her gaze I realized it was true. I blinked, and was suddenly aware I was at the exit of the docking bay with no knowledge of how I arrived. I paused.
Aramai, two steps ahead, turned with a look of irritation. "Come, Zaalbar! You can trust me. I will help Bastila Shan and I will help Jen Sahara."
Once more, the pull to her proved too strong to resist. My vision narrowed to the dark-haired medic walking in front of me, so all I could see was a tunnel with her figure leading me. Background noise sounded a distant hum in my ears, and I focussed on one foot in front of the other. I can trust her. She will help Bastila Shan and she will help Jen Sahara.
Aramai stopped suddenly in front of me and I blinked. Somehow, we had made it to another docking bay that looked much the same as the one the Ebon Hawk stood in. I did not know how I had travelled there. The fog sat heavy in my mind.
The bay was deserted bar a small freighter that was completely dwarfed by the large, open-roofed area. The ship did not look big enough to house a hyperdrive, let alone any advanced medical technology. Aramai stared deeply into my gaze.
"You have helped heal Bastila Shan. She will be much better now. Repeat it, Zaalbar."
"(I have helped heal Bastila Shan. She will be much better now,)" I said mechanically. It was good that Bastila was feeling better.
"Place her down in the ship's entrance," she ordered, and I did as I was bid. Behind me, Aramai spoke soft words that didn't register, so clouded had my thoughts become. A hard pressure was closing in all around my mind, like grasping fingers forcing me to stillness.
"Now, what am I to do with you,"she was murmuring, but the words weren't directed at me, and I barely heard them. Like the distant buzzing of gnit flies, they were easy to ignore. "I need time, time to leave this rock and transfer to another ship that can enter hyperspace. I cannot risk being discovered until I am well away. Hmm." Aramai paused for a moment, and then strode back into view.
That piercing yellow gaze stared deep into my soul again, demanding obedience. "Bastila Shan is healed, now, and is sleeping back on the Ebon Hawk. You must go and guard her door, Zaalbar."
"(I must go and guard her door,)" I repeated. The words were too compelling to ignore. Bastila was healed, now, and sleeping.
"Good boy," she murmured, following it with a tinkling laugh, and somewhere deep, deep inside me, an anguished howl of despair was quenched by the ominous pull of the part-human stranger. My gaze had narrowed to pinpricks, and all I could see before me was the eerie glow of the mesmerizing yellow eyes. All I could feel was the overwhelming presence of the woman I trusted implicitly
Aramai cleared her voice, and spoke loudly again. "Do not let anyone disturb Bastila Shan, Zaalbar. She is sleeping back on the Ebon Hawk, where you found her."
"(She is sleeping back on the Ebon Hawk, where I found her,)" I echoed. There was a sick feeling in my gut, but it was not important. Doing as I was bid was important.
"One last thing. A message for Jen Sahara." Aramai reached up, high, to grasp the fur on my chin. She was tall, for a human. Her gaze was all-encompassing. "Should Jen Sahara enter Bastila Shan's room, you will remember that Kylah Aramai took her to Uthar Wynn at the Academy. Now, go! Go back to the Ebon Hawk and guard Bastila while she sleeps!"
I blinked, and suddenly I was back on the Ebon Hawk, standing guard outside the pilot's quarters. There was a vague noise of conversation in the cockpit, but it was unimportant. Down in the depths of my mind, someone was howling a murderous scream of wrongness but it was small and tamped down by my primary objective.
All that mattered was the overriding desire to guard Bastila Shan while she slept.
xXx
