A/N: Sorry this took so long. I wasn't sure what the next step was after this, so I delayed posting. Was also working on my Jurassic World story, which is now coming along nicely. One more thing, this story isn't ending with the disabling or destruction of Supernova, which is still fast approaching our heroes. Although it will probably be considered the closing chapter(s) of Act Two.
Chapter Five
Countdown to Supernova, Pt. One
Or, Voxyn Squadron
Two Standard Days Later..
Nick and Sariana had just returned from their trip to the living planet, Zonama Sekot. Nick had, of course, picked up some armor that was supposed to be able to stop lightsabers from cutting through, wanting to make sure if he needed it that he had it. Walking into the training room, the other five older teenagers looked in their direction and smiled, seeing the two of them smiling themselves.
"Its about time. How was the trip?" Laurana asked Sariana, hugging her best friend.
"It was great," Sariana said as she leaned in and kissed Nick before turning back to Laurana. "But we have a raid to get to. Come on, Voxyn Squadron!"
Everyone looked to Nick for whatever answers he may have. "We got a distress call from Opposition soldiers at the Inquisition base on Abregado-Rae. Apparently, some of my mother's best soldiers met with more resistance than they thought. They also said there was a group of young children, about the twins' age or younger. The commander in charge said the kids are Force-sensitive. We're on a rescue mission. Corbyn, your ship is coming with. Take Elliot as your copilot, I can handle the Shadow on my own."
"Got it, mate. But, what the hell did Sariana mean by Voxyn Squadron?"
"Oh, we have a call sign for missions now, something I figured we needed or the Inquisition would know all our names, which is surprising they don't, seeing as they have an evil clone of Laurana. That's not important, everyone get ready and board the ships. We're not losing any more like Iego." He turned back to reengage the engine of his ship as Keryne, and Keyrinn boarded the Shadow, Laurana and Beckha choosing to fly with their own significant others.
Keryne found Nick alone in the cockpit. "Are you on Spice?" She asked in Mando'a, surprised at Nick's sudden change of attitude.
"No, just had a nice couple of days." He sighed, smiling at the memory. "She knows. About us, her death aboard Supernova. She told me, before we left Zonama Sekot, that until we get there, she wanted to be out there fighting her father to her last breath, and alongside those she calls family. She may want to talk to you as well. But, hold off on that for now. When Corbyn gets that excuse for a yacht off the ground, I'm going to go over the information we have."
Keryne nodded. "Alright, that may explain one of those couple of visions, then, at least partially. She wasn't upset about, you know, hiding you knew about her death?"
"She was, but more because she would have had us out there, trying to make a difference sooner. And she understood why I chose to hide it from her. Sariana also told me you called her beautiful the other day," This caused Keryne to stagger where she stood. "Anything you'd like to tell me?" He asked her, amused.
"No. Its not like I'm attracted to Sariana or anything." Keryne blushed, trying to sound confident in her answer.
"Ha! I knew it!" Came Sariana's voice over the intercom.
"Saria, shush. Let her explain herself. Sorry, Ryn." Nick chuckled, turning the intercom switch fully off.
"How'd she understand me? I'm speaking Mando'a."
"My ship has a quirk in the intercom system. See, Pyrell installed it and plugged in a protocol droid CPU, so now the intercom translates. Sometimes it doesn't work, though. Been trying to work that wrinkle out for a while. Anyway, you were saying?"
"Alright, I'm bisexual, okay? Sariana's very beautiful, as is your sister and Beckha. Its a problem for me, I've never been able to choose between the two sexes." Keryne answered shyly.
Nick laughed. "It's fine, Keryne. I'm sure Sariana is flattered. Alright, wings up in five, make sure she's alright for me?" Nodding uncertainly, Keryne left the cockpit to find Sariana.
Sariana was found in the armory down in the starboard cargo bay, fiddling with what looked like some jumpsuits. "What are you doing?" Keryne asked, surprising the other girl.
"Jeez! Sithspawn, Keryne, don't do that. I'm making sure these stealth suits have functioning cloaking mechanisms. That reminds me, that armor you have. Does it cloak? Cuz we have extra laying around, apparently. Nick apparently has enough respect with some pirates who give him some spare items from time to time."
"Um, well no, it doesn't. Is it hard to install the mechanism?"
"Surprisingly enough, no. Simple as installing and making sure no wires are crossed. I have to do it before we land, though. Nick wants this to be more of a stealth op."
"Then yeah, sure. I'll drop the armor off in a bit." Keryne turned to leave, but stopped. "Did you.. Want to talk to me?"
Sariana looked at her for a moment before nodding. "That's right! So, I heard everything you and Nick said in the cockpit before he turned the intercom off," Keryne looked away, not wanting to meet the other girl's eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'm more than flattered you think I'm beautiful," Now Sariana turned away, a small smile on her face. "Neither of us were ready, becoming teenagers and having our hormones rage out of control without any parental figures around. Being honest, though, I think you're beautiful, too. More so than I consider myself."
"Aw, I didn't think you really cared. But, how are you okay, knowing about Nick and I? About your own death? And I think the same about you, finding you more beautiful than me, I mean."
Sariana giggled. "Honestly? I'm not alright with seeing my own death. I've been a Jedi for about four months, and other than getting you and Keyrinn and rescuing Laurana, I've done nothing to stop my father and his deluded goals. So, knowing I have a deadline until I, well die, I figured I should fight him on my own terms. Thus, Voxyn Squadron."
"Isn't a squadron a set of ships, though? We only have two. And what is a Voxyn?"
"Voxyn were creatures bred to hunt and kill Jedi by the Yuuzhan-Vong during the Yuuzhan-Vong war. They were bloodhounds for Force signatures. And I figured, why not name ourselves after Force hunters when we do the same, just for the Inquisition's Sith? Also, if this mission goes well, Nick's mother might give him a squadron of fighters as a thank you for getting her people out as well."
"Laurana mentioned something about their mom being on Taivas, but I haven't seen her."
"Yeah, Queen Dreeana likes staying to her office unless she's needed elsewhere."
"Oh. So, there's really no bad feelings about me and Nick being together?"
"A little. I mean, I only just met you, but you're pretty cool. It's just a little hard knowing that I have to lose him."
"Hey, we all miss you, from what I've seen of the future. But, Nick will always remember you, even if us others don't. And according to Laurana, there's apparently a little Sariana somewhere in our future."
Sariana nodded. "I wish Supernova wasn't coming so quickly. I've done quite little in the way of living my life as it is."
"I understand, Saria. But, Supernova is still a month away. Promise me you won't go crazy with your new personal mission to destroy what you can of your father's empire." As she looked and nodded at the young Mandalorian, Sariana realized that Keryne was truly concerned over her death, and the chance to really know her.
"Keryne, can I ask you something? It's sort of personal, so if you don't want to, you don't have to answer."
"Yeah, ask away, hon." Keryne smiled as Sariana took a breath.
"Well.. I know how you feel about me, and I know about your feelings for Nick. But.. Oh, screw it. Come to Nick's room after the briefing. The three of us will talk then. And don't forget to drop your armor off for the cloaker."
Keryne was confused by the sudden suggestion, but nodded. "Yeah, alright. See you then." She confirmed, leaving the cargo bay.
Sariana giggled. "Neither of those two are going to see this coming."
Several minutes later, as Keryne stepped out of the fresher dressed in one of the more casual outfits Laurana had been kind enough to give her until she went shopping herself, Nick's voice sounded over the intercom. "Alright, guys. While we're not aboard the ships or the temple, we are all now Voxyn One, Two, etcetera. I am One, Sariana is Two, Elliot is Three. Laurana is Four, Corbyn and Beckha are Five and Six, Keyrinn is Seven and, for now, Keryne is Eight. Does everyone copy?" There were confirmations over the intercom. "Great. Now, our mission is actually quite simple. When we get to the area around the Inquisition base, we have to find the abandoned back entrance the Opposition initially entered from. Once inside, we are to do a few things. Point one, locate and smuggle the Force-sensitives from the base. Point two, locate and liberate any remaining living members of the Opposition forces. Point three, to ensure nothing worse could go wrong, eliminate every living soul in that building who supports the Inquisition. Are there any questions so far?"
"Yeah, I have one," Came Elliot from Corbyn's ship. "How do we navigate this base? We should know what the area looks like, at least."
"Already taken care of, everything we all need to know is on our datachronos," Keryne looked at the chrono on her wrist, given to her by Pyrell shortly after she had arrived two days earlier at Taivas. "I know not everyone can use them right yet, but a simple holomap projection should work correctly. And, once we're inside the base, the chrono will send out a sonar signal, pinging any hostiles within about fifty or so meters from you. The chronos also act as comlinks, but let's try to keep the chatter to a minimum once on base. We will all have stealth suits that will cloak us, but they deactivate upon direct contact and will then have to perform a short cool down before you can activate the suit again.
"Also, we are to make sure that we take out as many of the Inquisition lackeys there as we can without alerting others. Less witnesses means less chance of them knowing what we look like. Anyone got anything to ask me now?"
This time, Corbyn chimed in. "What in the bloody galaxy is a Voxyn?!"
"Sariana, this one goes to you." Nick laughed, followed by a giggle from wherever Sariana was, if not the cargo bay still.
"Voxyn are genetically engineered Jedi hunters. Big, lizard-like bloodhounds. We hunt the Inquisition and their Sith leaders, therefore the name works. Anything else?"
"Why didn't we hear anything about this mission before you two got back from your vacation?" Asked Beckha, crossing her arms in her seat in the Centennial Eagle's cockpit.
"I told you. Me and Saria got the distress call on our way back. They knew we would be able to brief you on the situation." Explained Nick simply.
"But, isn't mom back on Taivas? She could have gotten me at least. We could have just met up with you at Abregado-Rae." Laurana said.
"That's very true, but it doesn't matter at this point. I, however, need some rest because I haven't slept in a day and a half. Keyrinn, you know how to keep a ship on autopilot from crashing, right? Good, take the controls. Com me when we get close to our jump back to real space." The intercom turned off, and Keryne continued her trip around the ship, stopping in the upper lounge for a few minutes. Looking out at the galaxy around them, although being mostly debris fields from some long-forgotten conflict, the Mandalorian sighed, hoping that the future didn't become anymore complicated.
"Should probably go see what they want." She muttered, turning to make her way back down to the crew quarters, knocking on the door she remembered from one of her visions.
"Come in." Came Nick's voice, motioning Keryne to slide the door open. "Oh, hey, Ryn. What's up?" He asked her.
Keryne walked into the room and heard the door hiss closed behind her. "Honestly? I don't know. Sariana told me to meet you and her in your room after you did your briefing."
Nick knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "She did? That's a bit odd. Well, I don't know where she-" His words were cut off by the door hissing open behind Keryne. "Oh, there you are, Saria. Why did you want to talk to both of us?" Sariana looked at the two with a somewhat delirious or malicious smile. "Babe? Everything alright?" He asked her.
Sariana just giggled before flourishing her hands, using the Force to bring both Nick and Keryne flying onto Nick's cot. With another flick of her wrist, Nick was scared as she flung herself onto the bed as well, and all seemed lost as Nick had no idea what his girlfriend was thinking..
Several Hours Later, Orbit Around Abregado-Rae..
Nick opened his eyes and was confused as to what had happened, seeing both Sariana and Keryne laying in his bed on either side of him, thin sheets covering what he could tell were nude bodies. Then, the memories hit him like a train, and it took all of his willpower not to shout 'what the fuck?!'. Sariana had bound him to the bed, along with Keryne. Then, she had somehow willed all three of their clothes off in a single flourish of her hand, and after that Nick couldn't deny was one of the best times in his entire life. "I can't believe that actually happened," He looked at Sariana snoozing on his left. "What possessed you to do that, Saria? Not that I can really complain." He chuckled.
"Captain, we're about to begin landing procedures." Came Keyrinn's voice over the ship's comms.
"Thank you, Keyrinn. I'll be there momentarily." Nick said, unsure still of what to make of his current situation. He was brought out of his thoughts as the two women shifted simultaneously.
Sariana looked at him and smiled. "Hey." She said, snuggling closer to Nick.
"Hi. So, what caused you to make this happen?" He asked, motioning to the three of them.
Keryne sighed happily as she lifted her head up. "I'd like to know that answer as well." She stated, yawning.
Sariana blushed. "Impulse, I guess. I just wanted everyone to be happy, especially with my limited time left. This seemed like a good way."
"Alright, so on impulse you initiated a threesome. I could understand that. But, what does this mean?" Keryne asked, proving that Nick wasn't the only one who wasn't sure where their current actions left the three of them.
"I.. I.. Don't know. Honestly, I didn't even think I had the courage to go through with it." She giggled, making Nick and Keryne both chuckle along, shaking their heads.
"Then you, silly, have something to think about. Now come on girls, time to get up. We have people to go and save." Both girls groaned. "It isn't just my fault you both don't want to leave bed. But, I want everyone ready for combat by the time the ship has landed."
"But I'm naked, and Saria ripped our clothes up when she stripped us."
"Saria, give her something, you can both pull off the same size clothing. Just get ready. I'll see you both soon, loves." Blowing a kiss to both of them, Nick got dressed before they even knew it and left the room.
Sariana looked at Keryne, who had an expression she couldn't really read. "What?"
"I should say thank you. This was definitely not something I could have foreseen."
"But, you hate that it left you sore as shit, huh? Cuz that's the same feeling here. You realize that was my and Nick's first time, too, right?"
Keryne's eyes widened comically. "No! Seriously?" Sariana nodded, laughing. "Oh my god, I took the feeling of you two being alone for your first time! Why would you make that sacrifice?"
"Because I trust in the Force, as we all should. If it is the will of the Force that I should fall and you to take my place by Nick's side, then I will trust in the big picture. And come on, it was fun, wasn't it?" Sariana teased.
"You know it. Especially that thing you did.." And thus, the two girls began getting ready while continuing their teasing banter.
Several minutes later, Nick and Corbyn's ships had found a clear patch to land in. As they touched down, both pilots engaged the cloaking generators, making the ships invisible to outside forces. Nick's voice sounded over both ships' comm arrays. "Alright, guys. Abregado-Rae. Now, I want everyone to bring their maps up on their datachronos. You'll see the structure is essentially a pyramid. Some people say the Inquisition base was once a temple, but unknown as to being Sith or Jedi. That being said, they keep the emergency door in the back, used for evacuations most likely, unlocked and unguarded. Once inside, we have to be mindful of the map, for enemy locations and whatnot. Your datachronos show a three-dimensional map on our stealth suits' heads-up-display.
"We'll all split up into two groups. One group, Voxyn Squad Alpha, will go to find my mothers' men, who would most likely be kept away from our secondary targets, the Force-sensitives. Voxyn Squad Beta will be investigating the lower decks. Now, Voxyn Squad Alpha will be made up of Elliot, Corbyn, Laurana and Beckha, while Beta will be me, Keryne, Sariana and Keyrinn. Any questions?"
"Yeah, what do we do once we find our targets and eliminate the Inquisition troopers?" Asked Beckha.
"We set explosive charges, get out to the ships and blow the fucking building while we all escape." Nick explained like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Like it's really going to be that simple?" Remarked Laurana.
"It will be once all the troopers have been dealt with. Alright, time to move people, and keep the lightsabers away. Use vibroblades to keep them unaware the Opposition have Jedi on their side. Voxyn One, over and out." Then Nick, in the cockpit of the Force Shadow, turned to his group. "Alright. Everyone here ready?" Sariana, Keyrinn and Keryne all nodded, their heads all covered with their stealth suit and Mandalorian armor respectively.
"I made sure all the pirated tech works right after we left Taivas. Beckha did the same with the suits we moved onto Corbyn's ship. We all watch each other's backs in there. And watch out for any Dark energy. As simple as it all seems, there's no way this is going to go as easily as we think."
"Well said, babe. You two work things out?" Nick motioned between Sariana and Keryne.
"Yeah, we worked something out. But first thing's first, the mission." Keryne said, giggling under her helmet.
"Yeah, yeah. You're right. Alright, let's go." With that, Nick lead the group outside of the ship.
Outside, they met up with Corbyn and his group. "Alright, stealth suits on. We're not giving them a chance to know we're even here." The group nodded and all disappeared one by one as they activated the cloaking mechanisms in their suits.
Soon, they all reached their entrance point. Nick activated the door as the others all got into position on either side of the door. "Who knew those stealth exercises would actually come in handy?" Elliot remarked, earning him a hit from Laurana.
Nick entered first, into a short hall that split into two directions. Looking both ways from the corner of the hall he was in, He determined there were no immediate threats and motioned for the others to file in. Once everyone was in, he motioned for the group to split up from there, at least clear the floor before regrouping.
As the two groups cleared the floor, Elliot chimed in with a tally. "Nick got five, Keryne, Sariana, Laurana and myself follow with four each. With three is Keyrinn, Corbyn and Beckha. Damn you Nick."
"Shut up, Elliot! Remember, we're all Voxyn, not ourselves right now. The Inquisition can't know our names or the bounty hunters will start coming." Nick warned, as he remembered Elliot's own words from one of his Force visions.
"Yeah, you're definitely not gonna like what comes next." Came Keryne's voice, making Nick groan as he remembered that she knew just as much and more about the future.
"Just, chatter minimal, please. There's a dark force here, and it's on the floor below us, but it is also.. Shielding? Another presence, possibly a bigger one, is being hidden on purpose. It's a possible trap, but we were to eliminate all other enemy opposition. I'll go check it out. You girls got my back?" He motioned to Sariana and Keryne.
"Always." Came both girls' voices simultaneously, followed by just Keryne. "And don't count Keyrinn out. He took to our training quite quickly. His saber skills aren't the best, but his telekinesis and push powers are phenomenal, just from the two days we had to train him before you and Saria came back."
"I figured. Probably you knew a little something being raised on Mandalore, and to wield the Darksaber, but the other powers weren't very well received on Mandalore."
"My grandmother ended that with her marriage to grandfather. They started a school for the rare Mandalorians that have Force talents. I was it's last inducted student before the Inquisition exterminated my people like rats."
Nick just nodded as he brought his group towards the stairs. "Clear the rest of the building and find whoever you can that we need to evacuate. Set remote charges at key points in the infrastructure. Voxyn Squadron, go." The eight teenagers split up, four going upstairs and the other heading down.
Keryne looked around the corner at the bottom of the stairwell, her senses picking up on a powerful Dark energy. Seeing the coast was clear, she motioned for the group of four to start their initial sweep of the floor. Her and Keyrinn stuck to the left while Nick and Sariana went right. The basement floor was modeled as a square, hallways converging on a single hall that lead to a circular room. The young Jedi found no trace of enemies on the floor, until they came to the circular chamber.
Outside the door, Nick found the air thick, harder to breathe from the saturation of Dark energy. "It's definitely not your evil sister." Sariana said, relieved the one to ultimately end her life wasn't present.
But, if not Laurana, then who? Nick thought as the group pushed forward into the chamber.
Inside, Keryne gasped at the side of children, maybe about a dozen around the same age as Palom and Porom, being held inside a deflector shield. "Don't worry, kids. We're here to rescue you." Nick told them as the young ones looked toward their would-be rescuers.
"I don't think you Jedi will be doing anything of the sort," Said a new voice as a monster of a man walked out from around the shield, the familiar pop-hiss of a lightsaber activating, the crimson blade pointing towards Nick. "I'd recognize you anywhere, thanks to that whore who calls you brother."
Nick activated his own lightsaber, the silver glow accentuating the rage he felt at this man's words. The clone may not be his real nsister, but they were still family. "She's not my fucking sister. I'll show you what happens when someone gets in the way of the Order."
There were three more pop-hisses as Sariana and Keryne both activated their lightsabers. "Go, Nick. We got your back." Sariana said, sneering at the obvious High Knight.
"My name is Pyuka, and I am High Knight number ten. That poor excuse for a Knight you killed on Coruscant was a youngling compared to me."
"My name is Nicklas Nekron, descendant of Darth Vader's secret apprentice known as Starkiller. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me, you cannot stop us. The Force will give me the strength to defeat any enemy of the new Order."
Pyuka laughed. "Big talk from a teenager. Bring it on then, if you have the balls."
Nick smirked. "Mine are probably way bigger than yours, you steroid-infused womp rat. Let's fucking go!" Nick used the Force to leap to Pyuka's position, spinning his lightsaber in a forward thrust at the man.
Pyuka raised his own lightsaber and scoffed. "Someone's been studying up on that geezer Emperor Palpatine. Shame it doesn't work as well as it did during the Clone Wars." He shook off Nick's blade and retaliated with a strong downward swing, the blade narrowly missing Nick as he sidestepped and pushed out with the Force, throwing the rancor of a man off balance. Taking the opening, the teenager swung wide, clipping Pyuka's helmet and sending several shards clattering to the floor.
Leaping back a couple of feet, Pyuka growled. "Alright, so what I've heard wasn't completely inaccurate. You do have some skill. But experience always beats skill, brat."
"Only if you underestimate your opponent. In case you have a brain the same size as that of a rancor, like your body, I'm actually warning you not to underestimate me." Nick warned, his blade colliding with the crimson of his enemy.
Pyuka chuckled. "Oh yeah? And what will you do if I underestimate you, eh boy?" He taunhted, bringing down a flurry of surprisingly quick strikes, each of which Nick dodged well enough.
Nick smirked. "Then I'll just surprise you." He threw his hand out and bolts of purple lightning flew towards the Knight, the older man apparently unable to block the attack as he knelt on the ground. "Any luck getting those kids out, guys?"
"No, we can't figure where the activator is. Think you can do better?" Came Sariana's voice.
"Possibly. You and Keryne wanna take him then? Me and Keyrinn will drop the shield." Nodding, Nick leapt back to the other three as Sariana and Keryne took his place against Pyuka.
"And what are you two supposed to be?" He asked the girls, eyes narrowing at Sariana. "You must be the Supreme Inquisitor's child. He mentioned you were on their side. And a Mandalorian? Ha! We killed the rest of your kind, what's one more?" He smiled sinisterly as he came in for an attack.
Keryne turned to Sariana as she blocked Pyuka's strike. "Follow my lead." Nodding, Sariana struck as Keryne blocked, and vice-versa. "I will avenge my people, but the Mandalorian culture shall always live on. Both in me, and my children after me."
"Big words coming from a bratty teenager. Especially one from such a small-minded race as the Mandalorians."
Keryne growled, but Sariana put her hand on her shoulder. "Don't let him rile you up. It'll only cause you to mess up. We got this." Nodding, Keryne took a breath and was about to strike when Sariana rushed past her, slashing at Pyuka faster than he could dodge.
"Impressive speed. Your father would be proud. If you were with us!" Pyuka said before thrusting with all the force he could muster, pushing Sariana back and raising his saber. As the crimson blade fell towards her, Sariana turned her face only to hear the crack of lightsaber on lightsaber contact.
Looking back, she saw Keryne standing with both of her blades pressed against the man's own, keeping him at bay. "This isn't your place to die, Saria! Now get up and let's finish him. You familiar with any Mandalorian battle tactics?"
Nick had, in fact, taught her about one such tactic. "I know Jango's Gambit."
Keryne's face lit up. "Finally. Alright, you want position Jango or position Mace?"
"Jango. Always wanted to do that." Sariana smirked, thumbing one of the thermodetonators on her belt.
Keryne nodded and pushed back, staggering Pyuka several feet back. The young Mandalorian proceeded to unleash a flurry of strikes, utilizing her two-handed style to the fullest as Pyuka attempted to keep up. Sariana activated the thermodetonator and counted to herself. As she hit three, Keryne shouted. "Now!" And proceeded to kick Pyuka back, causing his lightsaber to fall to the ground.
Sariana threw the bomb, and as it rolled into close proximity to the Sith, promptly blew up in his face. As the smoke cleared, Pyuka's helmet was now entirely destroyed, showing Sith yellow eyes under a shaggy mane of dark hair. "You brats won't win. In the end, Master Jarell will kill you and all your little Jedi friends. It's only a matter of-" His words were cut off by the black blade of the Darksaber severing his head from the rest of his body.
"I have had quite enough of you. Good going, Sariana. You get the shield down yet, Nick?"
"Just a parsec here."
"He does realize a parsec is distance, not time, right?" Keryne asked Sariana.
"I.. Don't know, actually. He's smart but he still has his idiotic moments. Voxyn Three, how are we looking upstairs?" She spoke now into her comlink.
"Uh, we've had easier times. Shock troopers all over the upper floors. Could use a bit of help." Came Elliot's voice.
"Someone will be up there as soon as possible. Give me five minutes or so." Nick answered as the deflector shield finally dropped. "Alright. Children secure. We need to get them to Corbyn's ship, so Voxyn Three, send Voxyn Five down to meet with Voxyn Seven to evacuate the children. The rest of us are on our way to assist."
"Copy Voxyn Leader. Voxyn Five out."
Nick nodded to the rest. "Keyrinn, help Corbyn get these kids to his ship, wait here for him while we go find the other targets."
"Of course. See you all when you get back." Keyrinn nodded, smiling at his new friends.
Soon, Nick and the others had arrived at the scene of a seemingly non-stop stream of Inquisition troopers, blaster bolts passing by the four young Jedi, who could only deflect the oncoming projectiles with their lightsabers. Jumping into the fray, Nick touched down on the ground and sent a wave of Force repulse at the Inquisition, all but the few shocktroopers sent into the walls. "Didn't you all get the message? Your High Knight is dead. Leave this place now and you'll all survive." He said, standing up and deflecting the shocktroopers' shots at him.
One of the shocktroopers took out a comlink. "Master Pyuka, do you copy? Pyuka, come in!" After several more moments, the trooper let out a growl. "Men, retreat! The trap was a failure." As the remaining troopers began leaving, despite the original mission parameters of leaving no opposition alive, the leader looked at Nick. "You show us mercy, even though the Inquisition has wiped out all other.. Hostile.. Force users. You have my sympathy, for not every commander cares about his men as I do."
Nick nodded, bowing. "As the Jedi have always upheld, unnecessary bloodshed is something we like to avoid. You, however, seem different from the rest. In fact, I sense that you're a Force-sensitive, aren't you?"
"Aye," Said the commander. "I am the one who told the Holonet about Iego. I have had.. Reservations about serving Supreme Inquisitor Jarell for some time."
"Then help us make a difference. Your men seem loyal most of all to you. Break them away and join the Opposition. I'm sure having a battalion of Inquisition troopers could come in handy."
The trooper looked at him, his helmet a blank expression. Nodding, the man took his helmet off, revealing a head of unruly black hair and green eyes. "I shall consider the offer, and my men shall speak no word of what has occurred here today to our commanding officers. My name is Dex Finley of Hapes. Again, I must thank you for allowing us to live, despite our roles in this conflict."
"I can sense you are different from the other Trooper commanders. We will await your call about an alliance, contact the frequency on this datacard. They will mediate your terms."
"Thank you, Master Jedi. I will take my leave now." Said Dex before he rushed out of the room where Nick could see another deflector shield with troops marked with the Opposition emblem.
Walking over, Nick used his mastery over the Force to disengage the shield, saluting one troop who looked like he was in charge. "Captain Yun of the Opposition?"
The man nodded. "That would be me. You're Dreeana's boy, aren't you?"
Nick smiled. "Yes sir. Mother sent me and my team to get you. Meet Voxyn Squadron. We don't have much time, because this base is going to be blown sky high as soon as everyone is evacuated. And the children are already accounted for. Back to the ships, guys. We're done here. And congratulations to all Voxyn members for a first job well done." With that, both groups began filing out of the now empty Inquisition base.
Coruscant, Inquisition Palace (Formerly the Old Republic Senate Building)..
Supreme Inquisitor Garruf Jarell slammed his fist down as he felt Pyuka's signal in the Force fade to nothing. "Damn those brats! My daughter and her friends must be dealt with. Maybe a secret weapon will change their minds to fighting against the Opposition. Fett!" He yelled throughout the throne room, his voice booming as it echoed in the large chamber.
A woman in dark pink almost purple Mandalorian armor entered from a chamber on the side of the throne room. "You called for me, Supreme Inquisitor?" She asked, revealing her long dark hair and charcoal gray eyes as she removed her helmet.
"Yes, Satine. I have use of your particular skills. There is a band of young Jedi running around, killing my most useful fighters. I want you to go and make your ancestors proud by bringing them to me, so I may make a public show of what the Inquisition thinks of upstarts."
Satine Fett gave the older man a salute. "Of course, Supreme Inquisitor. I shall leave posthaste to find them."
"That is not necessary. I believe I know where they will strike next. I wish for you to accompany the troopers I send, capturing these young Jedi while the rest of my forces deal with whatever distraction tactics the Opposition bring forth."
"Yes, Inquisitor. As you have wished it, it shall be done." With that, Satine walked back out of the throne room to prepare for her trip. I have a bad feeling about this. Mandalorians swore never to obey the Empire or any of their iterations again, and here I am stuck playing the Inquisition's personal bounty hunter because they wiped out the rest of Mandalore. Sighing, Satine donned her helmet once again.
Aboard the Force Shadow, One Standard Hour Later..
Nick and the others aboard his ship stood around the holoprojector that Pyrell had installed several days earlier as Dreeana appeared in the center of the young Jedi and captain Yun. "Hello, mother." Nick greeted, smiling.
"Nick. Thank the Force you are all alright. And Captain Yun, I see my faith in my son's team was well-placed."
"Yes, your majesty. The young Jedi were able to save us and the children while driving any living Inquisition forces running before the base was destroyed."
"But not before Elliot had BB-T3 remotely download and transmit any and all data they possessed to the Admiral. You should be receiving the files any time now," Nick added. "We also encountered another High Knight."
Dreeana's expression turned sour. "Was it..?" She knew of Laurana's evil clone and, like Nick, still felt a need to protect the double.
Nick shook his head. "No, it wasn't Laurana. But, we may have an inside man in the Inquisition now, if my feeling about him was correct. Other than the High Knight, the mission went off without a hitch."
"That is all good. In thanks for Voxyn Squadron's job well done, myself and the other Opposition leaders have deemed you all capable of handling yourselves and entrust Captain Yun and his men to ally themselves with you. Their Cloud Squadron fighters will now all be Voxyn Squadron fighters, but one of you young Jedi will at least have your own starfighter."
"One of those new XJS X-Wings would be nice. And we have a few astromechs lying about. Thank you, mother, we will ensure to do what is right by you, as always."
"You're such a suck-up." Keryne said, laughing as Dreeana turned to the young Mandalorian, who stiffened.
"I know who you are, young Mandalorian. Nick has already.. Hinted to me as per your role in all this. Once you all rendevouz back here at base, I wish to speak to you, Nicklas and Sariana. But for now, enjoy your victory. It seems too rare of feat these days to go to waste. Dreeana out." With that, the hologram disappeared.
"That went better than expected," Nick said before meeting Sariana's gaze. "What?"
"Your mother knew about Keryne, too?!"
"Who do you think I went to talk about problems that involve women? Laura? I think my mother was a safer bet. I didn't tell her anything specific. I swear I was vague."
"You better have been." Sariana looked at Keryne. "He better not sour the decision we made."
"Speaking of that, when are you going to enlighten me about this decision?"
"Later, obviously." Sariana turned and walked out of the cargo bay.
"Shell be fine. I'll go talk to her." Keryne said, following after her.
Nick sighed. "Alright, let's get home, guys. Voxyn Squadron, fly fast." He followed suit, going towards the turbolift up to the cockpit.
With Sariana and Keryne..
Keryne walked quickly, trying to keep pace with Sariana. "Saria, wait up!" She called, getting no response from the other girl. "Saria!" Getting no response still, Keryne sighed and quickened her step, grabbing hold of Sariana's arm and pulling her to the wall. "What is wrong, Sariana? Talk to me, if not to Nick."
Sariana's eyes went wide at her friend. "Nothing's wrong. I just hate being one of the last to know I was dying, and he told his mother about you. She knew you were going to be with us before anyone else other than Nick. I have a right to just be mad at him for a bit, you know." She pouted, making Keryne giggle. "What's so funny?"
Keryne stopped and leaned in towards her. "Only how ridiculously adorable you look when you pout." She pressed her lips to Sariana's, and the other girls' eyes widened before Sariana remembered what they had talked about earlier, visibly relaxing.
Before long, the kiss had broken and Keryne smiled. "Feel better?" Sariana nodded. "Good, now let's go see Nick. We have something to tell him, no?" Sariana bit her lip but nodded, Keryne laughing before the duo made their way to the cockpit.
Taivas..
Jedi Master Fyaruk Jiang looked upon the Force ghost of Jacen Solo, otherwise known as Darth Cadeus. "This is a surprise." Jiang said.
"You're telling me. My deeds didn't put me anywhere to deserve this. But, that doesn't matter. The Force is strong here, those children are all far too powerful already. The Inquisition may not be the only enemy you create by raising this new Gray Order."
"But I have hope that those children as you call them are more than mature to resist any temptation. Even Nicklas, son of Marek."
"Ah, so you do know his family's history. And the Mandalorian you've taken in? You know of her heritage?"
Jiang nodded. "I suspected as much, when I saw the Darksaber paired with a blue lightsaber. She is one of the strongest children in this galaxy, even with such little formal Jedi training."
"Be that as it may, I have foreseen a force even darker than the Sith my family has fought in the past, even Darth Sidious," Jiang flinched at the mention of the Emperor of old. "You know of what I speak, then. The Sith that came before recorded history will come back, and your Order will struggle with them. Especially young Tyno. Being unable to use the Force physically is a handicap Jedi are usually more than tempted to find a loophole to, even if it means joining the Dark."
"Elliot would never. He's loyal to his friends. The only thing that may draw him to their side is.. The clone.. But he has the real Laurana. No, I refuse to believe he would even consider it. He's the only one who was always skeptical about the Force, being unable to use it, he is still more than a good fighter."
"Time will tell. One more thing, you all may have some.. Unexpected visitors soon. Tell young Nicklas to trust in his visions but not to let them get to him. He is also dangerously close to turning on the others."
Jiang nodded as the specter disappeared, leaving him alone in the meditation chamber once again.
Nick's Cabin, Aboard the Force Shadow..
Nick looked toward the door to his cabin to see Sariana and Keryne enter, both with smiles on their faces. "Hey, you two. You look better." He commented on Sariana's better mood. "What's up?"
"We came to tell you what we decided," Keryne replied. "And we think you'll like it."
"Alright," Nick laughed. "What's the verdict?"
"Well," Sariana started, taking a breath. "Keryne and I decided, after our little romp earlier, that I would be acting selfish if I decided it hadn't meant anything to me. But it did, and now I don't want to just push Keryne and you apart when the future will break us apart." Nick looked at her, nodding for her to continue. "The point is, the three of us are now our own unconventional, dysfunctional relationship. And, I don't know about Keryne, but I could go for a second round."
Nick was taken back by Sariana's decision. "Are you sure? It makes our relationship more.. Complicated, doesn't it?"
"So what? I'm dying in a month anyway, might as well do everything I can to live life as fully as possible. And deep down, I just want you to be happy, and keeping secrets is what has kept you and I further apart than we should be. Especially pertaining to Keryne, so this is the solution I think works best for everyone."
Nick really didn't know what to say, but Keryne smirked. "Hey, maybe this will help you stay out of the funk when Sariana dies, no offense to you of course, Saria."
"True. Well, since that's out of the way.. Round two before we get home?"
Nick shook his head, laughing. "I swear, the two of you will eventually be the death of me." He said as both girls moved closer to him, indiscernible grins on their faces.
Bakura..
The girl shot up in her bed, a cold sweat covering her forehead. "Another vision? Damn it, what does it all mean?! And who was that guy protecting me from those shocktroopers?" Sighing, she threw on her robe and went out into the temperate Bakuran night.
Taivas, Several Standard Hours Later..
Nick, Sariana and Keryne walked towards the room that was Queen Dreeana's study. Keryne was nervous, even with knowing Nick and Laurana's mother knew about her and how she supposedly felt about the man walking next to her. But then again, the Queen had every right to judge her. Nick felt her unease and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, Keryne. My mother wasn't there for me and Laurana for most of our lives. She's just trying to make up for the lost time worrying about us now."
"Then why doesn't Laurana have to see her with us?"
"Actually, I don't know. I figure since Laurana likes to go and help mother out with whatever work she has, so they always have time to talk to each other." That eased Keryne while also making her wonder if Laurana had told Dreeana about the specifics that neither Nick or Keryne had seen in their visions of the future.
Stopping at the door, Nick knocked and was answered by the door sliding open on its own. "Come on in, kids."
Entering the office, Nick stiffened as his mother shot him with a glare that turned his entire body to ice. "You three have some explaining to do." Dreeana said, still making eye contact with Nick.
"What did we do, your majesty?" Sariana probed.
"Don't take that sweet tone with me, young lady. When were you going to tell me you were going to be having a three-person relationship?"
Nick almost ran out of the room right there. "H.. How did you..? I only just found out about the deal after we helped get your men off the ground on Abregado-Rae. The others still don't know, and we were keeping them in the dark about it because of certain circumstances."
"Like what, Nicklas? What circumstances could possibly cause you to not tell your friends, your self-proclaimed family?"
Sariana didn't like the arguing between Nick and his mother and sighed. "Keryne and I agreed to it because I'm going to die in less than a month, and after I'm gone Keryne will still be there for Nick. I love him too much for him to still go through the depression I've foreseen because of my death. At least with Keryne, he will have someone there when he needs them."
Dreeana was taken back by the young girl's words, unsure of what to say. After a long minute of uncomfortable silence, the queen sighed. "Alright, just be careful. All of you. Sometimes, even the best-sounding decisions are not the best. Now go rest. The data you recovered from Abregado-Rae will he processed and from there, we shall make our next move against the Inquisition."
Nodding, the three teens turned to leave. "Oh, and Nick?" Nick turned back around to his mother, who smiled. "I love you. Never forget that."
Grinning, Nick bowed. "Of course, mother. I love you, too." With that, Nick and the girls made their way back towards their friends.