Chapter 5 Storm on the Horizon

Rika woke early the next morning to the sounds of movement in the other room. As she sat up from the bed, she wiped the sleep away from her eyes and let out a deep yawn. She had worked late into the night with her building crew and they had finished making their rock wall. Randal had continued to train the militia and found relative success by driving the truck around while hauling a trailer of the pods that they had used for target practice.

She stood up fully now, and after a stretch, she opened the bedroom door and looked to see what all the commotion was about. Randal was all ready dressed and was buckling his gun belt around his waist. He looked up and paused momentarily before he finished tightening the belt.

"Morning," Randal said as he looked back down. Even though they were just partners, Randal couldn't help but notice that Rika was strikingly attractive, but her being a Jedi made things complicated, at best. There were times when her beauty caught him off his guard, and now was one of them as she stood in the doorway wearing only a small shirt and shorts, showing off her silky luminescent sapphire skin.

Rika caught the brief distraction in Randal's demeanor and suddenly felt embarrassed for not putting on more clothes. She smiled back apprehensively and went back to put her clothes on. Randal shook his jacket a few times and then pulled it on.

"I'm gonna see if Giles will drive me into town. I need to get a few supplies, maybe some more ammo. I'm also gonna bring the Destrier up here; I think there's a space big enough to set her down up near the mines."

"Why are you going to bring the ship here?" Rika asked as she pulled on her pants.

"I don't like leaving it down there. And besides, if I have to sleep another night on that lumpy old couch I'm gonna kill somebody." Randal waited for Rika to come out of her room and together they went outside, where everyone was gathering around the table talking and eating breakfast like they did yesterday.

Randal got himself a cup of caff, and then found Giles talking with a few of the villagers.

"Giles, I'm going to need you to drive me into town for a few supplies. I'm also going to bring my ship back up here," Randal said as he took a sip of his caff.

"You're going in to Stonehaven? Can I come, too?" Kayla asked as she set a plate of hot biscuits down. Randal was about to tell her that it wasn't going to be a fun trip and she should stay and help here, but Giles spoke first.

"Well I don't see why not." Kayla smiled happily and ran off to get her things. Randal turned around and rolled his eyes, which Rika saw and tried to stifle a laugh.

"So what are you going to do?" Randal asked her.

"There's still a little work that has to be done on the wall. I was also thinking about having a trench dug on the inside of the wall so the militia can have more cover."

"Sounds good. I'll be back in a few," Randal said as he headed off to meet Giles and Kayla at the ancient hover truck. When he got there, Giles slammed the rusted hood shut over the puttering engine, and Kayla was waiting inside the truck anxiously. Randal let out an exasperated breath as he climbed into the cabin and forced a smile as Kayla moved over to give him room, but only just enough for him to fit. He noticed that there was still plenty of room on her other side but he knew what she was doing. Randal almost told her to stop wasting her time, after all he was nearly twice her age, but he didn't want to make the trip any more awkward than it was all ready.

The trip into town was long but uneventful. As they road through the canyon and then through the rocky plains leading towards the spaceport, Kayla assaulted Randal with unending questions.

"So what's it like living as a freighter pilot? Is it exciting traveling from planet to planet? How many of them have you been to? Have you ever been to the Core?" Randal was overwhelmed with the questions, but tried to answer them to be friendly, if even only just to pass the time.

"It's all right, I guess. I don't have to answer to anyone unless it's an expedited haul they're paying me for. Space travel can be exciting at times, but it's usually pretty routine. Not much ever really happens. Well, at least nothing interesting to talk about ever happens. I've been to my fair share of planets, and yes, I've been to the Core. That's where I'm from originally."

Kayla was about to release another barrage of questions, but Giles laughed and restrained Kayla.

"Now come on, Kayla. It's too early in the morning to be asking that many questions." Kayla slumped back into her seat and the rest of the ride was quiet, except for the sputtering of the aging engine.

When they reached Stonehaven, Giles parked the hover truck in front of a merchant shop and the three of them stepped out of the cab. Randal stretched and rubbed the lower portion of his back as he grimaced. How long it was going to take him to recover from sleeping on that old couch, he had no idea. Kayla ran into the shop quickly, followed by Randal and Giles.

Diejkaz was standing outside of the Dalledo Mining building eating a garnupian pear when the ancient hover truck came in and parked down the street in front of one of the shops. Diejkaz remembered the truck; there were few examples of such old relics still in existence on this planet, much less one that actually still ran. As he continued to eat the purple colored meat of the pear, he saw the spacer who had put a blaster to his head step out and stretch before he went inside the shop.

Diejkaz dropped the remains of the fruit on the ground and ran inside. He found Kaul in Dalledo's office, where the fat old Corellian was talking his one good ear off about nothing he really cared about. When Diejkaz burst into the room, both men looked up at the Nikto and waited for him to speak.

"Boss! That spacer's come back, and he's with some of those miners." Kaul was glad for the change of subject and quickly spoke.

"Where's he at?"

"He's down at Greemor's. I saw them go in and I ran up here." Kaul went to the large window and looked down the street. He could see an old hover truck parked there, and before long he could see two people bringing several packages out and loading them into the back of the truck. Kaul heard an annoyed sound beside him and lightly turned his head to see Dalledo standing next to him.

"Which one is he?" Dalledo asked. Kaul recognized one of them; he was tempted to shoot him in the head a few days ago during their latest raid. But the younger, more built one he didn't.

"The one in the jacket," Kaul said. Dalledo narrowed his brow and then let out a hissing sound as he sucked air through his gritted teeth.

"Minions of Xendor," Dalledo spat.

"What?" Kaul asked. He had never heard that particular expletive used before, but he could gather what it meant.

"That's not an average spacer. You see those stripes on his trousers? Those are Corellian Bloodstripes; a military decoration. What is he doing with a bunch of miners?" Kaul turned back to the window and looked at the younger man with a new light. A military decoration? Now this was interesting. Perhaps now he would have some sporting fun on this drearily boring world.

"I don't know, but it can't be good. That much I can tell you." Dalledo stared at the man for a moment longer and then turned back to his desk.

"Invite him up here. I want to know exactly what it is he's doing up there and why." Kaul nodded and then motioned for Diejkaz to follow him as he left the room.

Randal carried the last of the packages and put it in the back of the truck. He only bought a few boxes of charge packs for the militia's rifles, but Giles took the opportunity to get a long list of supplies that everyone was wanting. Kayla came out of the shop skipping and wearing a new ribbon that she had put in her hair. She was about to show it off to Randal, but she stopped short when she saw the two men approaching. Randal narrowed his brow when he saw her freeze, and also watched as Giles's face turned white as he too looked at something behind him. Randal turned around to see what it was, and lightly raised a brow at the two men that were approaching. One of them was a Nikto, Randal remembered him from the other day in the cantina, but the other he had never seen before. This one was much larger and carried himself in a way that let anyone know that he was in charge. He was dressed like a typical swoop gang leader, wearing filthy pants with high scuffed boots and a jacket that brandished their gang's logo. But Randal also noticed the branded scar on his left cheek. The symbol raised Randal's heartbeat, because unlike most people, he knew what it meant.

"You," the scarred one said, "Dalledo wants a word with you." Randal rested his hands on the buckle of his gun belt and stared back.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is." Randal smirked at this and then shrugged slightly.

"All right," he said as he took a step forward.

"No, don't go!" Kayla gasped in fear. Randal turned back around and gave a smirk as he nodded to the truck.

"I'll be fine. You two go ahead and head back. I'll be along shortly." Kayla made to protest again, but Randal turned and started to walk towards the Dalledo building. Giles took her by the arm and tried to calm her down.

"Don't worry. He knows what he's doing. Now come on, let's go."

As Randal walked towards the building, he passed through the two gang members and kept walking. Kaul looked back and sneered at the two before he turned and followed Randal. Diejkaz gave Kayla a once over and then turned to go as well. The two continued to watch until Randal and the gang members entered the building before they moved.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Kayla asked.

"What can we do? Randal knows what he's doing, trust him. It's all we can do now." Giles looked at the building one last time and hoped that he was right. Together the two got into the truck, but as Giles started to back up, Kayla opened the door and jumped out.

"Kayla! What are you doing?"

"I'm going to wait for him. Go ahead and go, I'll ride back on his ship." Giles attempted to protest, but Kayla ran off before he could say anything. After turning around and watching her run off down the street, he shook his head and then began to make the drive back to New Beginning.

Randal went inside the building and then followed Kaul up the stairs and then into a high ceilinged office. Randal briefly looked around and saw ornate art work from a number of different worlds, but a lot of it came from the Five Brothers. Seated behind a large hand carved desk sat a short pudgy old man with a puff of gray hair atop his head. The fat old man stood with some effort and then put his right hand forward to shake.

"Stranger, I'm Jorg Dalledo."

"I figured as much," Randal said, not taking the offered hand but keeping his own on his gun belt buckle. Dalledo withdrew his hand and gave Randal a once over.

"So what do I call you? Unless "stranger" suits you?"

"Captain Randal Sarn of the Destrier," Randal said.

"Well, Captain Sarn, do you partake?" Dalledo said as he motioned to a crystal decanter of Corellian brandy.

"Every chance I get," Randal said with a smirk. Dalledo lightly smiled back, and then poured two crystal glasses of the expensive brandy. Randal took the offered the glass with his left hand and then briefly looked behind him to see that Kaul and Diejkaz had taken up positions at both sides of the door. He took a sip of the brandy and wasn't surprised that it was the expensive stuff.

"It's a rare vintage from the oldest Corellian winery still in existence. I prefer only the best, as you can tell," he said as he waved his hand at the room around him. "You ever make it back to the home system?"

"Not really. There's not much there for me anyway," Randal said as he took another drink.

"Yes, I know what you mean. You see, we think the same way. I left Corellia a long time ago because everything there was developed. There was no way for an industrious man to make his fortune. So I came out here, to this uncivilized and undeveloped planet. Where it was once just a small mining site for a galaxy wide corporation, I turned it into an empire. Nearly every mine on this planet is mine, and I did that all with my own ambition and drive. But those good for nothing squatters out there in Red Canyon are stopping the way of growth."

"For you, maybe. But they're just trying to make it in this galaxy, just like you and me," Randal said matter of factly.

"And what stake do you have in it? You don't look like the mining type. Did they offer you some sort of transporting deal? What is it that you want with those miners?" Dalledo asked as he sat down. Randal shrugged and continued to stand.

"I have my reasons for being there; that's all you need to know." Dalledo gave Randal a hard look over the edge of his glass and then reached for an official looking piece of flimsi.

"This is an official document from the regional Governor saying that I have the mineral rights to that canyon. Go ahead, read it!" Randal smirked and then shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. If you really held those rights, you could legally kick those people out of that canyon instead of having to send in a bunch of hired goons to try and drive them out." Dalledo stood from his desk and slammed his hand on the table.

"Damn it, Sarn! I've worked far too long and hard turning this rock into a profitable enterprise, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let a bunch of idiolistic miners get in my way!" Dalledo fumed for a few seconds but then stood tall and readjusted his silken neck tie. "Now I've been a patient man, but my patience only goes so far. Now up until now, I've been keeping Kaul and his boys on a short leash. But next time, I'm letting them go in, no holds barred."

Randal turned briefly to look at Kaul, who was now sneering in delight as he cracked his knuckles and popped his neck. The light coming in through the windows hit the scar on his cheek perfectly.

"Those people up in New Beginning, would you pay for their claims? Buy them out?" Randal said as he turned his gaze from the menacing Kaul back to the short lumpy man.

"Well of course," Dalledo said as he shrugged. "I'm a sensible man, and I'd prefer to do this as peacefully as possible. How does 1,000 a head sound? I think that's fair."

"How about 10,000?" Randal said as he took another pull from the brandy.

"10,000?!? Are you mad?" Dalledo choked out at the figure. Randal shrugged and placed his glass on the wooden desk, deliberately putting it right next to the protective coaster instead of on it.

"A lot of people might not know what that scar on his cheek might mean," Randal said as he motioned towards Kaul with a nod of his head. "But I do. That's an old Mandalorian character. I don't remember what the word was, but it means someone who commits atrocities; a real monster in living form. You know as well as I do that if you send him into that village with no restrictions, he's not just going to kill them all. He's going to torture them, burn them, mutilate them, but keep them alive as long as he can so he can enjoy it all that much more. Now I can tell you're a man who doesn't like to get his hands dirty, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that sort of thing on your mind, constantly knowing that you brought that upon women and children. So I guess you got to ask yourself one question; what's it worth to you to keep a clear conscience?"

Dalledo blinked rapidly and then let out a shuddering breath as he looked back at Kaul, who was only sneering with pure delight at someone knowing just what sort of hell he could bring. Dalledo's brow was now covered with cold chilling sweat, and he shakily took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow.

"All right. 10,000 a head. But I want those people out of there by noon tomorrow. If they're not gone by then, I'll have little choice but to send Kaul and his men in." Randal nodded and then turned to leave. Dalledo fell back into his chair and nervously poured himself another glass of brandy, spilling some of it onto his ornate wooden desk.

As Randal passed Kaul, the tall demon of a man smiled wickedly and said only one word.

"Demagolka." Randal locked eyes with the horrid man and continued to walk passed him, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end the entire time. As he passed, he caught sight of a chrome plated blaster on Kaul's hip with a red jewel with a golden tattered W placed on the hilt.

When Randal exited the building, he started to walk as quickly as he could across the street to the nearest alley that would lead to the space dock. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye and he reached to pull his blaster pistol, but when he saw that it was only Kayla, he let go of the butt and let out a deep breath that he didn't realize that he was holding.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you and Giles to go back?"

"He did, but I stayed. Is everything okay? What did he want to talk to you about?" Randal took Kayla by the arm and started to lightly run towards the docking bay.

"We've got real problem on our hands now. Come on, my ship's this way." Randal led them both down a few alleys and then entered the docking bay where the Destrier sat. Randal let go of Kayla's arm and made his way to the now lowering entry ramp. Kayla let out an overly impressed expression as she looked over the ship with wide awe-struck eyes.

"Whoa, I've never seen a starship up close like this before!"

"Well, now you get to ride in one," Randal said as he headed up the ramp. Kayla broke out of her mesmerized state and ran to the ramp. She paused momentarily at its base, but then walked up quickly, all the while trying to contain her excitement. She had always wanted to fly away in a starship but had only caught the rare glimpse of one as it either entered or left the space dock. But now, she wasn't only seeing one up close, she was actually inside one! Randal was all ready on the other side of the main cabin and was heading towards the cockpit. Kayla followed him, but was too busy looking at the inside of the ship to see where she was going. As she walked haphazardly, she nearly fell over when she ran into a squat cylindrical astromech droid, who let out a furious sounding series of buzzes and then rolled backwards to look at her.

From inside the cockpit, Randal yelled out to the droid. "Relax; she's never been inside a ship before. Get in here, both of you!" Kayla followed the astromech down the narrow access corridor and turned to enter the small cockpit. Randal was sitting in the left chair busily flipping switched that were turning the systems on and priming the engines. The astromech went to a small area behind the right chair and jacked in to the ship's systems via an uplink module. Kayla again just stood there and marveled at everything she saw. The astromech turned his domed head to face her and then twittered. He jokingly asked Randal if he had traded in for a newer model year.

"What?" Randal asked as he turned around. When he caught the meaning to the joke, he only cocked an eyebrow and then turned back around to his console.

"No, that's Kayla; she's from the mining village. Kayla, that's Geefive, our third partner in our little enterprise." Kayla bent over and looked Geefive in his ocular sensor.

"Cool, I've never seen an astromech droid before. How are you?" Geefive chortled a response and then went back to his duties. Randal didn't bother to give the actual translation of the joking reference to the intelligence level of the indigenous yokels and chose to rather lie.

"He says he's fine. Take a seat and strap in, we're about to take off." Kayla stood back up and then got into the copilot's chair and strapped in.

With a few jolts of the ignition, the trio of powerful ion engines turned over and Randal engaged the repulsorlifts. Steadily he raised the Destrier up, and with a quick rush from the engines, the ship took off. Randal lightly pulled the ship to port once they had gained enough altitude and headed towards New Beginning. As they flew, Kayla leaned forward and looked out at the landscape. Though she had seen it hundreds of times before, she had never seen it from this perspective. She leaned a little too far forward, though, and accidently pushed forward on the control yoke in front of her. The Destrier dipped down slightly, but Randal pulled it back up and then gave Kayla a look. She then shrank back into her chair and smiled apologetically. After a few moments more, she tried to lighten the air with a conversation.

"So what happened in Dalledo's office?"

"We had a talk," was all he offered.

"And?" Kayla pressed on, regardless of whether Randal was willing to talk about it or not.

"We're in trouble."