Mandalore.
[1]"Okay, I'll head Dad off. You know he's going to go nuts, don't you?"
"I'll deal with him." Jusik unbuckled his seat restraint and turned, fixing Maze and Zey with a warning stare. "Not a word until I've placated him, okay?"
Maze folded his arms, looking intimidating, "I'm not afraid of the old barve," he said. "I did this. I'll be just fine telling him why."
"I could just turn around and disappear again," Zey said. "It'd be better for everyone."
The woman leaned across the console and pressed the hatch controls. "Not now you know where we are. You're not going anywhere until Dad says you can."
Maze bowed mockingly. "After you, Bard'ika."
The ramp lowered with a long drawn out screech and judder.
"Good to have you back, son,"
"You might change your mind when you see what I've brought back with me."
"Ah, never."
"Maze is okay. Isn't he, Ord'ika?"
"I don't mean him."
"Buir, Maze had someone with him when we picked him up. And it was me who decided not to dump him out the airlock."
"As long as it's not some Death Watch shabuir."
"No. I brought back Arligan Zey."
"Maze shot him. I heard the blaster discharge. I left them both in Zey's office."
"Well, whatever—Zey's alive, and Maze saved him."
"Buir, I'm sorry. I had to make a snap decision. It was probably the wrong one."
"Why, son? Why didn't you comm me?"
Maze heard the footsteps as they came up the ramp.
Ordo!
They faced each other nose to nose as Ordo spat out. "You killed him; I heard it."
"You heard what you wanted to hear. You forget that Jango trained us personally and he was rather adept at misinformation." Maze was remarkably calm.
"All of you...out...now.!" He commanded, practically sweeping them out of the freighter.
They stood in the yard.
"I didn't think you'd be pleased to see me," said Zey. He held out his hand but it wasn't taken.
"Thank you, anyway."
"Nothing personal. But if any Jedi's going to come back from the dead, it ought to be Etain."
"I heard, I'm so sorry."
"I just can't believe you're jare'la enough to stroll in here. That's nerve. That's arrogance."
"Get inside, Kal'buir," it was Ordo, "We can't sort it out here. Ny? Ny, get the ship undercover. Come on, inside. Now."
"I would never abuse your hospitality. But this man is a Jedi, and so he is my business as much as yours." The Kaminoan butted in.
Maze took that bit of information in.
"I was his Padawan,"
"Are you sure you still aren't?"
Maze stared at Kina Ha and Scout, almost ignoring Skirata. The captain had never seemed the shockable sort, but it was clear he hadn't expected to see Jedi here.
"So you didn't have the stomach for it, then, Maze. Or did he spin you some osik about his respect for all life and what a great little clone you were? How dare you bring him here."
"It's me, Buir. It's my fault. Don't blame Maze."
Maze stood there, seemingly bored with the whole conversation.
"No, I want to know why he thinks it's okay to bring a Jedi here, especially now that there's an Imperial garrison on our doorstep. Whether he shot him or not is his business, but when he wants to bring him here, it's mine."
"Well, looks like it's Jedi Night at Kal's, if you don't mind my saying so. And a Kaminoan? Going soft, Sergeant? So you're going to lecture me on consorting with the enemy, are you?" Maze retorted.
"Kal, let's discuss this calmly," Zey said, "I don't blame you for being angry."
"This place is for clones. Get it? They're the ones who need help. Not shabla Jedi whining how tough things are and how they need protection. Is this some experiment to see how much insult you can add to injury without the whole galaxy imploding?"
Kal was on a roll.
"I'm not proud of what we were party to, Kal. I'm not claiming innocence or that I was only following orders. But don't you think we got our punishment for that?"
"So what do you want from us? We're collecting so many Jedi here that we're going to show up like the shabla Jedi Academy on Palpatine's Force radar."
"You know he's a Sith, then."
"Of course we know he's a Sith. We did business with them for generations. We know stuff about Sith that the Jedi Order erased from the records. You just can't hide history from everyone, Zey—there's always some other source. Our only problem is spotting the difference between you two gangs of crazies."
"Kal, you know that the Sith are bad news. They're evil. They've always been the cause of endless war and carnage across the galaxy."
"Oh, that's a good one," Skirata mimicked Zey's baritone growl…..
Maze let Skirata's and Zey's Sith versus Jedi argument go over his head. He was keeping one eye on the more dangerous people in this room—Ordo and the other Nulls, while he was planning on how quickly he could get back to Fradian.
Skirata stared up into Maze's face, he was the shorter man. "Just tell me, that you didn't do this out of loyalty."
Maze leaned over just a fraction, not intimidated by Skirata. "I did it because I thought he should get a fair trial. And because he used to make the caf in the office. It's funny how the little things tell you all you need to know about the man."
Maze saw the man, not the Jedi.
"So, give you a pot of caf—no sugar, splash of cream, maybe some nice cookies—and it's okay to send men to their deaths without asking them if they mind."
Maze stabbed a finger at Skirata but stopped short of jabbing it in his chest. "Zey's here. I'm responsible for that, the war's over, and you need to change the recording, Sergeant, because it's getting kind of monotonous."
"He'll get you killed."
"So? It'll be my choice. I'm not one of your poor dumb victim clones. You didn't free them from the Jedi. You just brainwashed them for Mandalore. When are you going to let them think for themselves?"
"Right now," both Ordo and Maze staggered back a few paces. Maze shook his head, disoriented, and Zey grabbed his arm.
"That was you, was it?" Maze asked.
"Sorry." Zey shook his head. "Don't fight over this. Please."
"Come on." Jusik stepped between Skirata and Maze.
"Buir, go for a walk. Everyone, get out and leave us to talk. You two as well." Ordo herded Skirata to the door, somehow forcing Kina Ha and Scout ahead of them. Maze scowled but looked to Zey for a nod to go.
"Just remember what you are, Bard'ika."[1]
Maze heard Ordo's parting shot,
.
Fradian
Essie expected to see Stormtroopers when the hood was roughly removed but it was the woman. Stretching, she realised she wasn't restrained and frantically searched for her com; it vibrated on the table, it was Maze trying to get hold of her. The red haired man shook his head, as she looked at it before they let Del rush to her.
Hugging him close, she checked him over before checking their surroundings. They were in a room, no windows. The woman, opened up a hologram —a live feed; Essie watched as a boxy freighter flashed its lights in the Ore Terminal. She saw the plant workers, as the speeder with Maze and Zey moved past them, one looked around, pointed his finger and the rest of the workers heads all whipped around, as the speeder accelerated toward the freighter. The workers ran after them.
The ramp lowered; Essie didn't think he was going to stop then they were in the freighter, She started to breathe again.
The freighter shot upwards.
The hologram switched off.
"He's gone, you're safe now. He was quick enough to leave both of you." The woman pushed a bottle of water towards her. Essie wanted to throw it at her. It sprang a leak.
"That's odd. I'll get you a fresh one."
"You don't understand." She moved Del around and winced at the pain in her side and back.
"What don't we understand?"
She shook her head. There was an old saying.
Out of the frying pan into the fire.
She needed to get hold of her Com.
.
Kyrimorut.
Zey disappeared into the Jedi fold that were here at….whatever it was called. Maze couldn't blame him but now he had to get back to Fradian.
He let Kom'rk show him to a room; yes they had it all worked out. Kal had his family right under his thumb, or so he thought but Ordo seemed to be breaking loose, a little. He wondered if Besany Wennen had anything to do with it. She was here. He had seen her standing in the background.
He slumped on the bed. physically tired but his mind racing on his next course of action. The only way would be to steel a ship, not that freighter, too big. He needed something smaller to get to Fradian and find them.
His mind stopped racing when he heard the knock at the door. It tentatively opened.
Kom'rk!
Maze tensed waiting for the inevitable argument or smart arse comment.
"Laseema sent you some sandwiches to tide you over to dinner." He held a tray out in front of him.
Maze glared a reply.
"Okay. Dinner's at eight. Plenty for everyone. Ignore Ordo. He'll get over it."
Maze continued to glare.
"There's caf as well. Probably not as good as Zey's but….."
"Bit of a comedown isn't it?" Maze interrupted.
Kom'rk frowned. He had always got on reasonably well with Maze in what few dealings he had with him.
"Being a waiter, after being the golden boy catching Grievous, all those months ago."
The muscles in Kom'rk's cheeks twitched, then he smiled again.
"Takes all sorts. Dinner's at eight."
He closed the door behind him.
Maze ate the sandwich as only a clone could and it barely hit the sides; he hadn't realised how hungry he was then the guilt set in.
He headed for the fresher.
"Shower, then recon."
Keep moving!
Keep planning!
It was what he knew.
He let the hot water run down his back, as memories came back of times at Essie's apartment. She and Del didn't deserve this.
.
Fradian.
The woman, Pria, she said her name was, left to go to work. They seemed to think they had rescued her from Maze. She hadn't said much more to disabuse them of that idea.
The red haired man, Ka, they called him, entered the room pushing the door shut behind him. So far they had treated her and Del well.
They had food and water.
They hadn't been beaten.
He dropped a datapad on the table.
Essie saw the images. The wanted posters for her and Del.
"Not very flattering." He said before picking it up and swiping across.
"Not sure who you were with but at a guess it's these two." He put it back down.
Maze and Zey's wanted posters flashed up.
"Don't care what the relationships are but these two are worth more than you. Ones a Jedi. So I could turn you in and get a small reward."
"Or?" Essie asked, trying desperately to keep her voice calm.
"You could contact them and get them both to come back." He produced her Com.
"No. They won't, can't."
She saw his eyes go to Del.
"If you touch my son I will kill you."
He watched her. She saw him shake his head a fraction.
"I do believe you would. Pria wouldn't like it either. She's a soft touch." He said, as he regained control. "So if you won't get them to return, I'm in a quandary."
"What to do with us." she answered him.
"Not really. But I am out of pocket. This" he swept his arm around, "costs money. It's simply business. I need to get a return on my investment."
Essie narrowed her eyes, she couldn't think what he meant.
"You'll need to work it off. And the food and lodging you and your boy use, while you're doing that. It could take a long time."
He threw the com up in the air and caught it again.
"I'll hang on to this while you think about it."
.
Kyrimorut
"So how's Maze?" Jaing asked his brother, as he came back to their makeshift but efficient Ops room. Thousands of pieces of data was already flowing through it despite being blocked from Imperial coms.
"Twitchy. Don't remember him being the twitchy kind."
Jaing snorted, "I suppose being on the run can do that to you."
"Think I'll keep an eye on him."
"Yeah you do that."
"How's Ordo?"
"With Bes'ika."
"So he's alright."
"I suppose so. Ego a bit bruised. He really thought Maze had shot Zey."
"Always check for a pulse." They chorused together, grinning.
"Ny?" Kom'rk was fascinated with the older woman A'den had been dealing with throughout the war.
"Warily watching Buir, who is warily watching her." Replied Jaing.
"Might have to do some nudging there."
"I think our brother has done enough nudging." Jaing decided.
Kom'rk grinned. It was good to be with his brothers, although he was still getting used to it. Regular coms didn't replace actually being with them; it had felt like a long war.
.
"So Maze and Zey came on their own?" Besany asked Ordo, who was just finishing his shower. She held a fresh towel out for him.
"Yes."
"Didn't he have a girlfriend? Maze!"
"What are you thinking?" He poked his head around the corner, when his wife said something in that way he had soon learned to take note. There are nuances he still didn't pick up on, "there's a loose end somewhere?"
"I wouldn't put it exactly like that."
"But there could be someone out there looking for him?"
"Yes." That was more how she was thinking. "If you disappeared I would turn the galaxy over to find you." She cupped his unshaven chin in her hand rubbing her thumb aling the stubble.
"I'll get Kom'rk onto it." Ordo decided before pulling his wife to him.
.
Fradian
"Where are we?" Essie asked.
They had been moved from the windowless room but she still had a hood over her head, although they had let her keep Del next to her. When they got out of the speeder, she heard music and smelt stale alcohol. Some kind of bar.
All she received was a push in the back for her question and the hood was pulled off.
"Down there." She was pushed down some steps. It looked like an old building built out old fashioned bricks. She had seen images of these in the University Library. Another push in the back and she was through the door and being dragged through a dark corridor in the lower part of the building. Finally pushed into a room packed with women and which smelt of cheap perfume, sweat and makeup.
She blinked at the bright lights.
"Dreya? Can you do something with her?"
A tall Pantoran woman with striking gold tattoos, pushed her way through the milling bodies.
"Tables first, I think."
She raised a golden eyebrow.
"Listen to the accent."
"What's wrong with my accent?" Essie had to ask.
"Oh yes. There's a few that will like that. A posh Coruscanti serving them."
"Then if there's any interest, real interest, she can move on."
"What?"
"You have to pay your way out of this and that's the quickest." Ka reminded her.
"I'll take the little boy." An old human woman, pushed through from the back.
Essie hugged him closer and received another push in the back.
"He's a cute one ain't he? Break some hearts one day." Del was dragged from her arms by the woman and he glared at her. There were chuckles all around, as they saw his face.
"Don't worry. I'll look after him with the rest."
"Rest?"
"Pria insists." Someone said.
She was pushed towards the room at the end, following the woman carrying Del, whose face was crumpling.
"The girls work better if their little ones are safe." There were a lot of small children crammed in a room full of old cheap toys and holograms.
Del started whining, as the woman put him squirming in the floor; the door was closed in front of her. She pushed at it.
"Sorry love." She heard behind her. "You won't see him now till the end of your shift."
Dreya pulled her back and sat her in front of a mirror, the set to work.
Essie stared at the image in front of her. It looked like her but not her. The make up made her look a lot more like the other girls who had been wandering in and out of what she now knew was the dressing room.
They were looking for a dress for her.
"Need something to cover the arms." She heard a voice say.
"The punters don't like someone who has more muscles than they do." Someone else commented giggling.
Finally she was dressed.
"All that for the tables?"
"To start with." That was Dreya's voice.
"Why don't you have serving droids?" Essie asked, no one in particular.
There was laughter. "You'll see."
.
Ka turned over the woman's com in his hand. Teq had checked it out.
"So this is what you said was a top of the range com unit only issued to what were Republic Senate staff and then it's been modified even more?"
"Parts have been disabled. Very well done."
"Can you slice it?"
"Not without destroying it. That's why it's well done."
"But there is a tracking facility?"
"Yes."
Ka pressed the tiny button pointed out to him. It looked like part of the housing.
Teq looked aghast. One of the mods on his face twitched.
"You don't know who's going to track it. Could be the Empire?"
"Oh, I don't think so." Said Ka.
.
Kyrimorut
Kom'rk saw the tiny green light out of the corner of his eye; Jaing was concentrating on the Intel they had been given by Niner.
"I'm taking a break." Kom'rk advised, and palmed Maze's com. Ordo had asked him to keep an eye on him. This needed to be investigated, he retreated to his room.
.
Maze took a run around the perimeter; their security was impressive but it was the Nulls after all. They had all they needed here and more. Medical facility, food production monitoring intel room from what he saw, then something else that was being built. Part of him was impressed and part of him still relished the look on Ordo's face when he knew Zey was alive.
"Maze we need to go back. We shouldn't have left them."
Zey's voice resounded around his brain. As did the Kaminoan's.
"Arligan needs to rest. Recharge. He's drained. There is only so much you can do with the Force until you cannot replace it, especially now."
He hadn't helped him just to have him die on him now.
He stopped. The ships were all under cover.
The freighter—too big.
The fancy submersible—unknown quantity.
The Aggressor — short range sensors. Twin laser and ion cannons. Tractor beam. Room for eight and three months supplies when fully stocked.
"Nice little ship. It's the one I would go for."
Maze whipped around it was only a Null that could get the drop on him.
.
[1] Star Wars Imperial Commando 501st - Karen Traviss.
Reveiws are always welcome.