It hadn't taken Elena long to follow Mand's path from the med center, but even with her lightsaber at her side and the two Edgepoints behind her, she was beginning to get the proverbial bad feeling. As she, Swip, and Leikam stood at the threshold of a dark, foreboding alley, she couldn't sense anyone else nearby, and for good reason. Even scavenging rodents left the alley vacant, as though something were warding them off. Were it not for the sinister skeletal remains of structures that had obviously once been an opulent part of the surrounding med center grounds centuries ago, Elena would have thought they had stepped onto another world entirely. She was just as unfamiliar with the city-planet's Underlevels as she was with its elegant high class sectors, but she knew enough to stay away from both.
"M'lady," Mennil Leikam began quietly, "please, allow us to go in first."
Elena shook her head, her voice defiant. "No, we go in together." Though it took a few moments, she finally got looks of resignation from them both. "Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. This was the last place the security cameras saw Mand, and she may have left us clues."
Leikam and Swip nodded simultaneously, pulling their blasters from holsters at their waists as they kept close at her side. Elena made the first steps into the alley, her hand firmly gripping her lightsaber hilt, but almost immediately she noticed footprints in the centuries-old grime that lined the durasteel path. They were leading deeper into the darkness, but the pattern was regular and paced, spaced close enough together to have been made at a slow walk. Still wary of the alley around her, though, she continued to follow the prints while also glancing about, scanning the levels above and beside her. Both Swip and Leikam watched in front and behind, alternating as they walked along.
Having the two of them with her was comforting and unnerving at the same time. She was unsure what they would encounter during their search, and more importantly, she wasn't sure how well she could protect them both if someone were to attack. They had been well trained, she knew, and if they were anywhere near Koril's caliber of guards, they could certainly handle themselves. But still, a strange warning sounded in the back of her mind as they moved in further, though she couldn't tell where it was originating from. Something had definitely happened in the alley, but what?
"M'lady," Swip caught her attention as he knelt to the dirty floor, pointing out a long, dragging trail in the filth. It stopped against a mangled cargo container with a few footprints around it, and as they stepped toward it, another set of tracks nearby disturbed her. Just beside the container, a set of four nonhuman prints lined up and encircled the others, and judging by the spacing and size of each print, they belonged to some large animal. At her side, Leikam saw them, too.
"What are those..."
A sense of dread took hold of her, even though she knew she had no way of telling if the animal tracks were there before, after, or during Mand's trip down the same alley. As she followed two sets of human footprints and the animal's beside theirs deeper into the alley, it became apparent that they all had to have been walking together. Other than the trail that looked like something had slid along the ground, there seemed to be no evidence of an attack: no blood, no apparent new damage to the walls or other structures within the alley...
What were you doing down here, Mand...
Though the lighting in the alley continued to diminish the further they went, Elena could clearly tell that the footprints suddenly stopped. All three disappeared, leaving the remaining durasteel floor down the alley undisturbed, layers of thick dust and dirt with no definable change. Confused, she looked around, but Swip again grabbed her attention, kneeling down to inspect odd markings on the floor.
"A ship took off from here, m'lady," he said as he placed his palm against the black streaks that fanned out from one focal point. "Exhaust burns," he explained, "and they're still somewhat warm. Probably didn't leave too long ago."
Elena furrowed her brows. A ship was going to be even harder to track, especially since there was no way to know what it looked like, and there most likely weren't any witnesses in the area who would be willing to speak. She was going to have to come up with another way to find Mand.
Just as Swip stood and turned back to Elena to speak, a deep, guttural growl echoed down the alley, seemingly emanating from all directions. Instinctively, both Swip and Leikam closed in around her, their backs to her as they tried to determine the source of the sound. When nothing else moved and the alley was once again silent, Elena gripped Swip by the arm, tugging on it as she began backpedaling toward the alley's exit.
The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion.
Though it made no sound, an ugly, ferocious animal sprinted toward them at an impossible speed out of the darkness, its black eyes fixed on the three and its protruding jaw lowered. Elena didn't have time to react, much less pull Swip out of the way of its powerful spiked tail it swung at them, landing squarely in his stomach. The force of the blow launched him backward into the air, knocking Elena and Leikam down behind him. Scrambling to her feet with suddenly blurred vision, Elena ignited her purple-bladed lightsaber, quickly defending Leikam and Swip on the ground.
The beast roared viciously and scraped its claws at the floor, but as Elena stepped forward, twirling her blade aggressively at it, it surprisingly began to back off. With another chilling growl and threatening tail thrash, it snorted angrily and turned, rapidly disappearing back into the black from where it had come.
Motionless and breathing heavily, Elena stood in shock, watching the dark alley. She had never seen such a terrifying beast, and neither had she seen something as large as it was move as quickly as it had. It wasn't until she heard a faint choking sound behind her that she remembered what had just happened. Powering down her saber and clipping it back on her belt, she turned, kneeling beside Swip who was pale and shaking on the floor. Leikam was pressing his hand firmly on Swip's stomach, and even in the darkness of the alley, she could see blood spilling out underneath his fingers.
"M-M'lady," Swip choked weakly, "you're hurt."
"Shh," she immediately quieted him, gently pulling Leikam's hand away to see the wound. The beast's spiked tail had pierced him deeply, and even with Leikam's compression, the bleeding had hardly stopped. She watched Swip's eyes as she placed her hand over it, pressing down hard and calling on the Force to heal it. Swip still gasped for breath in shock, but his eyes tracked to the side, looking behind her down the dark alley.
"It's okay," she reassured him, "it's gone. You're going to be okay." Though she continued concentrating on his wound, his eyes remained fixed on the alley. With her free hand, she turned his head to her, looking into his eyes intensely. "Swip, listen to me--"
But his gaze returned to the alley and widened suddenly in alarm. "M'lady!!"
Again before she could react, the beast returned and leaped at her, digging its front claws into her shoulders as it powerfully knocked her to the ground on the other side of Swip, landing atop her back with an angry growl. With its entire weight pressing her shoulders against the filthy floor, she couldn't move her arms to reach her lightsaber at her belt. Inflicting more pain, it slowly flexed its claws deeper into her back, and as it picked up one paw and began to drag it down her shoulder blade, she saw Swip beside her weakly bring up his blaster, aiming at the beast.
"No, don't!" she tried to warn, afraid of enraging it further, but both Swip and Leikam unleashed a flurry of bolts, landing at least one in the creature's eye. It roared in pain and jumped off her as it shook its head, affording her just enough time to grab her saber. Igniting it, she rolled onto her back and swung it up to sweep the surface of the monster's hind leg as it stumbled away out of her reach. Just as before, though, it trotted off, limping as it growled and once again returned to the darkness disoriented. Leikam continued to shoot at it as it left, but as soon as it disappeared, he holstered his blaster and knelt at her side.
She again replaced her saber hilt on her belt, and without even feeling her own wounds, she dismissed Leikam's concern, instead returning her attention to Swip beside her. After wounding the beast, he had fallen back to the floor nearly lifeless, barely breathing and ashen-faced. Again kneeling at his side, she resumed the pressure on his wound, but he didn't even react to the pain, making her panic.
"Swip, come on, stay with me," she pleaded, checking his pulse with her other hand. Though it was thready and he was still breathing, he was quickly becoming critical. "Swip?" She gripped his jaw and turned his head to her, but he hadn't yet responded to her. Even more worried, she raised her voice. "Swip! Saross!"
Finally answering to his first name, he coughed weakly and looked up at her, though his eyes seemed unfocused. Looking toward the alley's opening that had to be more than a kilometer away, she glanced up at Leikam. "Can you carry his weight?" Getting a quick nod from him, she stood and pulled Swip up under his arms, lifting one over Leikam's tall shoulder. He easily supported Swip and began to quickly make his way out of the alley toward the med center while Elena ignited her saber behind them, walking backwards to keep an eye on the dark in case the beast made a third appearance.
Unaware of how long he had been standing alone in the room with Mand still unconscious on the table in front of him, Horatio continued to stare with his arms crossed over his chest, confused by his own reaction. Tzymo had so easily broken through his barriers he had put up, bringing back feelings he hadn't considered in years. She had once been his partner, but they had almost been more. Not only had she been streetsmart like him, she had also proven her worthiness as a warrior at the meager age of eleven. He had at first thought her a brat, but seeing her ingenuity, her instincts, and her powerful Force skills time and time again, saving his life on more than one occasion, he had come to...need her, and he hated to admit it. She seemed unstoppable, and together they had successfully completed all of their missions for the shadowy Huxnel they had been assigned.
But so much had happened since her shift of allegiance. On her first mission without him, she had run into the Jedi Academy runt Elena, and in trying to infiltrate the planet's hierarchy to assassinate the king, she had fallen into their friendship instead. He had expected the Huxnel to send out a team to contain her, possibly even kill her to keep her quiet about them, but for some reason, they had left her alone, at least until a few months ago. Maybe it was her powerful abilities that kept them from pursuing her until absolutely necessary, and even then they were only able to subdue her because he had been involved. And once again, thanks to his hand, she was a captive, a prisoner in her own mind...
Though she hadn't moved since blacking out what seemed like hours ago, Horatio stood from the wall when she choked suddenly, coughing as her head rolled from side to side. She moaned in pain, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she quieted, fixing her gaze on him. Her expression was blank even as she looked at him, and he could tell she was processing something. What surprised him, though, was the tone of her voice as she addressed him.
"Jespir," she breathed quietly with relief, "...you're okay."
Confused, Horatio stepped forward cautiously after a moment, unsure what she meant. Had she called him Jespir to deride him? And why would she care about his condition? Hesitant, he shrugged a little, his voice expressionless. "Why wouldn't I be?"
She still looked glad to see him, her voice weak but hopeful. "That explosion...at the art dealer's home... You saved me."
Horatio could hardly breathe. Her mind was completely splintered by the drugs Tzymo had subjected her to, and she was stuck in her nine-year-old memory of one of their missions that had taken them to the ice planet of Hoth. They had broken into Tarin Scorne's hidden underground art stores in search of one particular painting the Huxnel were after, but such a seemingly innocent mission had not gone as well as it should have...
He swallowed hard, struggling to withhold his own resurfacing memories. "Yeah...you just had to walk right into that trigger..."
"Did we get it?"
Again unsettled, he held her gaze for a long silent moment, his jaw clenched, before he nodded. "Yeah. We got it." They had been successful in acquiring the painting, but at the cost two lives: Tarin's, and...unintentionally, his wife Jaala's, the woman Horatio had become close to while infiltrating Tarin's business. He had maybe even come close to being in love with her, and she wasn't supposed to have been killed...he should have been able to protect her...
"Good," Mand continued tiredly, though she grimaced. "My head hurts...really bad..."
"Just relax, Kil. You'll be fine."
"Why did you do it?"
Still desperate to control his expression, he looked at her for another long moment, his voice low. "Do what?"
She sounded so innocent... "You came back for me. You weren't supposed to."
He had to look away from her eyes. "Part of the mission. I had to bring you back in one piece, or Armiger would have my head." Returning to her, he shook his head as he laughed shortly, though his expression changed little. "You never made it easy for me."
"I'm sorry," she apologized needlessly. "I have a lot to prove to my master..."
He shook his head. "You don't owe me an explanation. You have your mission, I have mine. We just happen to...cross paths..." Hearing her words she had just said to him hours ago come from his mouth before he could stop them, he released a shaky breath, haunted by how much of his past was intersecting with his present. He was reconnecting with her, far more than he anticipated, more than he wanted to, but she kept drawing him in. Though still strapped to the table, she turned her wrist under the restraints, placing her near hand palm up to him.
"But I at least owe you my gratitude."
He stared at her hand for what felt like an eternity. Inexplicably, his own hand floated over hers, and though every thought in his mind shouted against it, he gently closed his hand around hers, gripping it carefully. Her fingers tightened, too, and he could barely bring himself to speak.
"You'll do okay, Kil. You don't --"
Feeling her grip loosen suddenly, he looked up at her in time to see her head roll to the side as she fell unconscious once more. He released her hand after a few moments, and after a long, tired sigh, he stepped back, running his hand through his hair anxiously. He had to leave, leave her, maybe even leave Tzymo Labs for a while, but he couldn't get away fast enough. Without even looking back to make sure she were still alive, he left her behind, his jaw tightly set and a dark look in his eyes.
"I'm not bleeding anymore, so let me go."
Elena's demands continued to fall upon deaf ears, despite the minor nature of her wounds. She felt stupid getting such intense attention, but a team of nurses continued to tend to the gashes on her back and nearly had to hold her down to keep her in place.
"Please, ma'am, these need to be cleaned, and we've not yet evaluated your nose that may be broken."
"I can heal them myself, now please, I need to leave!"
Another nurse behind her answered a little more forcefully. "Not until we complete our assessment!"
Elena sat hunched over on a hard bench, with no less than four sets of hands poking and seemingly scraping at the claw wounds on her back, making her cringe intermittently. She had her arms wrapped over her chest, holding a minimal sheet over her exposed upper body while her bare shoulders and back were inspected and cleaned. Dried blood itched under her nose, but resigned and afraid of being berated for moving again, she held still, hoping they would be finished soon.
"What did you say this animal was?" one of the nurses beside her asked. Aided by a particularly painful probe reaching down into her shoulder muscles, she resisted the urge to bite back angrily.
"I didn't," she answered through gritted teeth, "we don't know."
Still in shock from the attack, Elena had a hard time processing just what all had happened. She remembered hearing the growl in the alley, then something incredibly fast ran up to them and hit Swip, and he knocked her down as he was launched backward... That must have been how she had gotten a bloody nose that instantly blurred her vision as her eyes watered. She hadn't even felt it, it had happened so fast, and the rush of having to fight such a nightmarish monster kept her numb to it until after the second attack and after she and Leikam had gotten Swip safely to the med center. The medical staff had whisked her away, too, tending to her almost immediately and leaving her without the chance to check on his status. She had a dozen other friends only a handful of floors above her in the complex, but none of them had come to her. Either they just hadn't found her yet, or Swip was in more danger than she had thought.
"Miss Lyran," came a solemn voice beside her, and even though she didn't want to move, she didn't have to. She knew her visitor.
"Master Lithess," she answered respectfully, and after listening a brief moment for the lighter set of his apprentice's footsteps, she added, "Wes."
The Chiss Jedi Master wasted no time. "The animal, was it the same?"
Still hunched over and having to stare at the floor, she nodded carefully. "I think so. It was just as Mand described...impossibly fast and strong, and Master, it wounded one of our guards with that awful tail. Could you --"
"Master Rylka is already seeing to him," he cut in, anticipating her question. She sighed with relief, but there were still other pressing matters. "Did you notice anything else about the beast? Where it came from, where it went, anything that will help us track it?"
Taking in a deep breath to calm her racing thoughts, she concentrated, thinking back to the encounter. The beast itself, aside from being extremely dangerous and apparently a mystery to everyone, had no defining markings or identification of any kind. The alley's darkness had shrouded its arrival and departure, but as they were making their way back to the med center after the attack, she remembered hearing...
Still with her eyes closed in thought, she spoke quickly. "A ship took off nearby after we left. I can't...I can't make it out..."
"Patience, Miss Lyran," Lithess guided calmly. "Quiet your mind, focus on that single moment."
Using the Force to concentrate harder, she pushed her sight through the darkness, through the smog that blanketed the outskirts of the med center grounds, and though she had almost lost it, she finally saw a clear image. "Gray, with a dark green stylized logo: T L."
Though Master Lithess said nothing in response, she knew him well enough to know that his silence meant he was already formulating a plan of action. Simultaneously, all hands that had been working on her wounds lifted from her back as the nurses stepped away from her. A light blanket was draped around her shoulders as Lithess strongly pulled at her elbow to stand her up, bringing the blanket tails in front of her.
"Thank you for your service," Lithess addressed the medics cordially, "but I will be resuming her care." As he finally looked her in the face as she stood, she vainly brushed the blood off her skin above her lip, and his crimson gaze nodded to her shortly. "We'll find you a new set of garments on the way. We have a few hours of travel ahead of us."