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All named characters are the property of Disney/LucasFilm.
For this story, 'Brothers of the Broken Horn;' or at least the part where Ezra made good on his debt to Vizago, didn't happen.
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"Go With Me."
"Stay With Me."
Chapter 4
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From the previous chapter:
"And you being a Jedi, there are now three reasons to keep your debt to me. Do you understand? Bring Bonteri to me."
Ezra became slumped and distraught. Then, after a few seconds, "How?"
"Any way you can. It shouldn't be too difficult. Make it easy on yourself. . . . Just bring me his head."
—•—
—•—
"I hate children."
That was all poor Vizago could get out. 'I hate children.'
Certainly, Ezra had brought Vizago the head of the Bonteri Fleet, Commodore Lux Bonteri. That was what he, Vizago, wanted. 'Make it easy on yourself,' he remembered saying to the boy, 'Just bring me his head.'
But what he didn't want and didn't count on was that the rest of Bonteri would come with it attached, body and all, alive and kicking and holding a gun to Vizago's head, the metal muzzle cold to the Devonian's temple, holding him down on his knees with a strength that surprised Vizago just by looking at him. On the other side was Saw Gerrera, who he now knew was General of the Armies protecting Onderon, holding a gun to the other temple. 'Must be in case one misses, huh,' he thought vituperatively. What Vizago didn't know was that Bonteri was holding this very same blaster in the very same way to Ezra's head not just a few hours previous.
All around him were the smoldering ruins of his once-great business empire, in ashes and hissing metal scraps. Here and there were the remains of his once-precious droids that were supposed to prevent this, scattered around him, cut into too many pieces to count in this life. Through the smoke he could see some Zabrack marines, with a lance corporal at the head, looking mean, rifle at the ready. If his blaster bolts didn't get you, his head-spikes would. Next to them was what looked like an officer, but in a fancy uniform, flanked on the opposite side by equally flamboyantly accoutered soldiers. He too, looking ready to kill in a moment's notice.
Then there was that leaf-green Twi'lek woman, Hera, standing in front of Zeb, with a close bead on his head, holding a mean Ryloth Blurrg-1120 blaster that he knew would leave an exit wound bigger than his fist. Next to her was that Jedi Kanan, one of the causes of his ruin, looking Jedi-smug all the time.
But all that wasn't Vizago's real worry. Not by a long shot. As if three aiming right at his head wasn't enough—right next to Bonteri was a Togruta woman who looked ready to gut him in a flash with her twin, white lightsabers for the wrong blink of an eye.
He looked at Ezra, standing on the other side of the Twi'lek woman from Kanan, next to the girl he knew as Sabine, with his lightsaber in his hand.
"I hate children."
"We know that, Vizago," said Bonteri, "You said that already." Vizago only grumbled. "Now," the Commodore continued, "We have to find out what you had to gain from this. Why would you have Ezra try to kill me, Vizago? What gain?"
The Devonian signature cowardice then kicked in. Once met with not just a greater force, but also an equal or even a weaker force with a good bluff, Devonians were notorious for giving in. But for Vizago, he wasn't all gone yet. While he answered, he started to move a foot; quite brave for his kind even with a serious Jedi staring him down.
"I don't know anything," the smuggler answered, while slightly moving his boot. "How could I know? I am just a smuggler."
"You are a lot more than that, Vizago, a lot more. Trading in ion blasters is no small thing."
"That crew got them for me!" he almost shouted, moving his boot a little more.
"That doesn't matter. You wanted them. That's all that matters. I'm just glad they wasted most of them fighting the Imperials."
"That's—"
"Shut up and tell us," Saw Gerrera countered, "Why did you want my friend dead?"
"Because—" Just a little more with the boot, then suddenly from the Togruta Jedi;
"Boot darts, Terr!"
Lux smiled at the pet nickname. It had been a long time since Ahsoka called him that. He looked back up at her. "Thanks, chichuk." (A Togruti word of endearment, which the last time he used was that night fifteen years ago.) "Move that foot again, and it'll be rolling around on the tuft grass and those Lothcats yonder will be using it for playing games," Lux was deadly serious in saying back to the smuggler. Vizago was defeated. "Just for good measure—Hera," Lux called to the captain of the Ghost with a nod in response, "Put a bead on his foot. If he moves it again; you have my permission to fire at will."
Hera smiled; "Roger, roger, Commodore." Silently, Hera touched a switch on her blaster and then aimed her Blurgg a little lower. In a second, Vizago could see a small, red laser-dot move on to his boot, just back of the toes, where the blast would hit. It didn't reassure him much that instead of three fist-sized exit wounds coming out of his head if he did something, he would only have two—in addition to a blasted foot. 'Some consolation,' he thought.
"Now, back to business," the commodore recovered after a smile. "Why were you trying to kill me?"
Vizago gave up. There was nothing more to do. "To take you to the Empire," he sighed in defeat.
"To take me where in the Empire?"
"How should I know?! I was only told to take you to some ship."
"What ship?"
"Some Star Destroyer. I don't know the name. Really. Some ship with a Conantin running it."
"Conantin?" questioned Kanan. "Never heard of him."
The Commodore responded, "That's because here is no Conantin, Kanan." He looked at the Devonian. "You mean Konstantine, don't you?"
"Yes, yes. That's right. Konstantine."
"On the Relentless," Commodore Bonteri filled in the details.
"Terry, let me take this over," interjected General Gerrera. Commodore Bonteri responded with a nod of his head.
"Let me give you another name, Vizago," said the General, "Does the name 'Kallus' mean anything to you?" Vizago looked up to the General significantly. "Obviously, it does," was his response to Vizago. There were some looks at General Gerrera. "He is normally stationed on the Relentless," he filled the others in.
"How did you know?" was Kanan's question.
Commodore Bonteri only smiled. "We have our ways." He then looked back to Vizago. "Now, 'smuggler.' Ezra. How did you know Ezra would be close to me?" That was the nub, the question of the moment. It didn't matter that Vizago wanted the commodore killed, or even that he knew Ezra was on the Plo Koon. What mattered was how he knew and how the two would be close together.
"I was only told what I was told!" whined the Devonian. "All I was told was that you and the junior Jedi were on the ship at the same time. That's all I know!" There was a pause in the interrogation. "What are you going to do with me?"
"For right now, keep you here," was Commodore Bonteri's response. "Officers and Jedi for a conference." Saw, Ahsoka, Hera, Lux, Kanan, the Zouave colonel and Ezra started for an area off a way. "Ezra?" asked the commodore, "You stay here. If the smuggler bothers you, chop off his head."
"Yeah, Ezra," said Kanan as he was departing, "Like I taught you." Ezra then took a position close to Vizago, snapping his singular lightsaber on for effect.
"Yeah, Kanan, like you taught me. Roger, roger Commodore," he smiled back to that person with a wave in response.
"You mean, you were taught to—" asked a scared Vizago.
"Yeah," was Ezra's reply. "Do something stupid to find out. Besides, why did you say I should just bring the Commodore's head if you didn't think I could do it?"
"I was just being facetious. Sorry."
•
The group of officers and Jedi gathered a ways away, a good distance from Vizago. He might be a Devonian and a coward, but it was best not to take chances.
"We have a spy," said Commodore Bonteri first as they huddled together.
"Obviously," said Ahsoka, "But who? and why?"
"I have my," Commodore Bonteri stopped shortly, "I have my—suppositions."
Ezra, watching over the smuggler as the officers and the older Jedi were commiserating, gestured to the Zabrack lance corporal for assistance. He was so filled with competing emotions he thought it best to have some help even for this small task. He didn't know if he could keep them in control. As the tall marine came over and stood on the other side of Vizago, Ezra looked back in his mind of what had happened a few hours before—
Ezra and Commodore Bonteri had been walking together after a small breakfast the morning after the big dinner party. There weren't many who were still hungry. Ezra was, as he hadn't eaten that much the night before, but he didn't want to let it show.
They were talking about Ezra's parents, the young man inconspicuously walking a little behind the Commodore. Then, as Lux opened the door to his room and was about to enter, he turned around to say goodbye to Ezra, but was met with a Force push into his room. Suddenly, Ezra entered the room, and used the Force to close and lock the door. Commodore Bonteri was stunned as he recovered, and was suddenly looking down the wrong end of a lightsaber as he turned around. What didn't make sense was that the boy didn't look as if he wanted to do what he was doing one bit.
"Ezra! What are you doing?!"
"I— I have to take you with me; with me to Lothal."
"Why?! And why to Lothal?"
"Please—I don't want to do this. But I must. I have to take you to Lothal, to Vizago; as a promise."
"You promised this Vizago, whoever he is, to abduct me and take me to a far-off planet in the Outer Rim?"
"No!" Then there was a short silence. "I mean, yes." Lux could see the boy losing focus and concentration. He silently, unnoticed by the consternated young man, passed his thumb swiftly inside the top edge of his belt buckle, with the design on the face of it just like the one on the port-side of the ship.
"Why?"
"As a promise to Vizago. He helped save Kanan from the Empire in return for whatever he asked me to do. Kanan; he is my Master. I owe my life to him many times over." As Ezra was saying this, Commodore Bonteri, unnoticed again by the boy, touched a small, round medallion, close to his left shoulder. He then made a few, minute motions with his fingers, seemingly natural, but in a pattern.
Then, there as a silence between the two. Not much, but it was enough to fill a book.
"So," returned the Commodore, deeply, slowly, yet sadly, "For you to keep your promise to Vizago, I must be the sacrifice." The horror of the statement caused the young man to take his eyes off his target for a second.
Bad move, Ezra.
Just then, the room suddenly darkened and then a nanosecond after, a blinding white light went throughout all the room, blinding Ezra for a second. A second was all the Commodore needed. In a flash, Lux had crushed Ezra against a wall, his strong right hand holding his own two fast around the lightsaber, hard against the wall, but the other was holding a sleek, smooth, and deadly snub-nose Naboo blaster to his right temple, glowing like a menace in the light from Ezra's still activated lightsaber. "Turn the saber off," the Commodore said through his gritted teeth, "Now." The tone this came out in told Ezra he was in the greatest danger to himself in a while—at least since Malachor. Ezra turned off the light saber. As he did so, the lights came back on and he heard the door suddenly open. Saw Gerrera, holding another blaster aimed at his head, entered, and, what was the worst, was followed by an irate, shocked, and a most highly disappointed Kanan.
"Drop it," ordered General Gerrera.
"Ezra," was all Kanan could exaperatingly sigh out. Kanan had a face he had never seen nor wanted to see again. He was followed by Ahsoka, with a countenance of great sadness. He dropped his weapon with a thud.
"—young Jedi; —young man." Ezra could hear the Zabrack calling him back to reality. While Vizago was looking at him, the marine hadn't taken his eyes from Vizago. Ezra couldn't say the same. He was glad he had the foresight to call the man for assistance. "They are returning," he was informing Ezra.
As they were doing so, Vizago started to look a little worried. "What are you going to do with me?" he asked in that state.
"Hold up your end of the deal, Vizago," Hera replied to him as she came up to him. "You're going to bring Commodore Bonteri to the Relentless; to Kallus."
"Oh," was the smuggler's only response. He didn't see how he would do that since he was on his knees, not knowing when his last breath would be.
—•—
Thank you for reading this. I hope you enjoyed it. This update is much shorter than what I am used to posting, and I already had another minimum 2,000 words to add in but a bit too many flashbacks were created so that I was worried that the flow of the story would be interrupted too much. Hence, it is cut here. If I may, I would like to post the next chapter soon and ask the readers for their opinions about the two chapters together. (Please leave a review of this chapter if you wish.) Will that be all right? I will try to get that chapter up soon.
As you can tell, for better or worse, the events here are after Malachor. I decided to keep the story as it started before the finale. (Or is it finalè? It seems my iPad dictionary doesn't have diacritics.) To keep this under Spoiler Alert level; I am highly disappointed with the series in what happened to Kanan and I will never understand people's fascination with that perennial nuisance of a Sith. (end of rant)
Vizago's boot darts are from his drawing in the Rebels pre-release Visual Guide. He had some circles on the toes of his boots like Aurra Sing.
Thank you,
johnt
