A few seconds, and the airlock opens. He goes inside, and is greeted by both his passengers, apparently recovered.
"Feeling better?"
"Yes, sir," Rex says.
"Well?" Ahsoka says.
"The ship will be fueled up shortly, and I bought you both some clothes." He hands Rex the shopping bag. "If you don't like them, then you can just wear them to go buy whatever you do like."
He hands Rex a thick bundle of cash from his bag.
Ahsoka eyes the cash.
"Where did you get this?" she asks.
"You don't want to know. Just don't take too long. I want to be out of here as soon as the ship's fueled, and before they come after us. It won't take them long to narrow down where we went."
"Who are they exactly? Who is chasing us?" Ahsoka asks.
"Interimo, the leader of the outer rim's crime empire."
With that he walks to the meditation room, and the door closes behind him.
Starkiller sits on his knees, his lightsabers disassembled, and floating in midair around his head. His passengers returned just before the fuel was loaded, and they left Delta III without further incident. They jumped into hyperspace, heading for a more populated trade run, where they could figure out what to do next.
"Umm, Starkiller?" Ahsoka's voice buzzes through the speaker system of the ship.
He resists a groan, and quickly puts his lightsabers back together.
"What is it?"
"It looks like we're picking a distress call nearby. You'd better get t-"
"On my way," he says.
He holsters his sabers, and moves quickly to the cockpit. Ahsoka, and Rex stand near the control console, waiting for him. She wears a new, extra long reddish shirt over brown leggings. Rex wears a set of modified Stormtrooper armor. Starkiller nods to them, and sits in the pilots chair, examining the instruments. He presses a few buttons, then a fuzzy image of a young blonde woman sitting at a control console appears on screen. A garbled, but understandable voice croaks through the ship's audio.
"This is Lieutenant Forbes of the merchant ship Animus. We are under attack by pirates, if you can hear this-"
A console behind her explodes, and she turns as one of her shipmates screams. She turns back to her console.
"Please! If anyone can hear this, please help us!"
The screen fuzzes, then goes black as the connection is severed.
"The pirates must be jamming their communications," Rex says.
"We have to help them," Ahsoka says.
"Where are they? Can you get a fix on their position?" Starkiller says.
Ahsoka checks over a control panel. A holo readout of a galaxy map appears with a blinking dot. She points to the dot, and the display zooms to a sector view.
"Only a few minutes away from us," she says. "We have to help them."
"It may be trap," Rex says.
"Worth the risk," Ahsoka says.
"It's your ship," Rex says, turning to Starkiller. "What's your call, Sir?"
He looks at Rex, then Ahsoka, her blue eyes imploring.
"Altering course to intercept," he says. "Activating the cloak."
"The cloak?"
"It was developed in secret by the team that built The Rogue Shadow. Vader killed them all after the ship was complete."
"Oh," she says, then buckles into a chair.
"Dropping out of hyperspace," Starkiller says after a time. "Cloak active. We are undetected."
"It looks like one small escort, and three fighters attacking a transport," Ahsoka says.
"Only three fighters," Rex says.
"The Animus's defenses are down, and I'm reading multiple boarding vessels latched onto their hull."
"That's bad. Try to find me a docking port."
"On it," Rex says.
"Why ambush a giant transport full of goods, if all you're going to bring with you is an escort? They can't possibly hold much stolen cargo," Ahsoka says.
"Slavers," Rex says. "They're after the people. There!"
Rex points to a section of the ship.
"I see it," Starkiller says.
He guides the ship towards the bay, then stands up.
"Take the helm," he says to Ahsoka.
She unbuckles, nods, and sits down.
"I'll be on comm. Hack into their mainframe, so you can access their internal sensors, and keep me appraised," he says.
"Right," Ahsoka says.
He heads towards the aft of the ship, and opens the door to the weapons locker. He grabs his armor, and a few gadgets for his belt. He walks to the airlock, just as the docking clamps lock into place.
"We're docked. You're good to go. Sensors are monitoring the status inside the Animus. It doesn't look good," Ahsoka's voice buzzes through the comm in his ear.
"Understood."
He opens the airlock, and enters the transport ship. The walls are a shiny white, and the floors are black. He presses his finger to his ear, and activates his comm.
"Which way to the bridge?" he says.
"Take a left at the end of the corridor," Ahsoka says.
He runs to the end of the corridor, makes a left.
"Elevator should be coming up on your left," Ahsoka says.
"I see it."
He runs a few feet, and hops in the elevator.
"Heavy fighting on the level above," Ahsoka says.
He presses the button to go up one level, draws his lightsabers, and waits for the doors to open. The doors open, and the sounds of blaster fire, explosions, and screams fills his ears. He strides out of the elevator into the empty corridor.
"The hatch in front of you. It looks like a mess hall."
He senses multiple lifeforms in various states of distress on the other side. He ignites his sabers, and reaches a hand forward, opening the hatch with his mind. He runs inside, and quickly analyzes the large room. Tables run the length of the room with people trying to take cover behind them. Only a few of them have weapons.
Dead bodies lay strewn about the floor. Weequa pirates wearing helmets, and goggles are pouring through the door at the far side of the room, gunning down anyone who resists them, men, women, and children alike. It's a massacre.
He sees them trying to drag the women, teenage girls, and young children out of the room. His anger rises. He sets his jaw, and takes off at a full sprint, running right for the pirates attempting to take the hostages. They spot him, and start firing, he gracefully deflects their bullets without bothering to slow down, careful not to deflect them into any civilians.
A large group of pirates to his left take notice of him. He sweeps his right arm across to the left, sending them all flying into the wall. He leaps into the air, blocking blaster bolts as he sails towards them. He lands in the middle of them, releasing a shock wave as he hits the ground. The pirates stumble and fall, as do the hostages.
He picks up each pirate on the ground, and slings them towards a group of pirates who just came through the door. They try to catch their flying comrades, most get knocked to the floor. He charges a blast of energy, then releases it on the pirates pouring through the door. They fly backwards as if being pulled by an invisible tether.
He turns to look at the wide eyed hostages on the floor, and points to a group of people huddled behind a table that had been turned over.
"Go," he says, simply.
They nod, get up, and go. He turns back towards the door just as more pirates spill in. They see Starkiller, his blue lightsabers, and the fallen pirates now strewn about the room. Starkiller takes a defensive stance, jaw set, teeth bared, eyes on fire. He points one of his lightsabers at the pirates, and waits.
"So, Captain, what do you make of this Starkiller guy?" Ahsoka says, sitting at the pilot's chair.
"What do you make of him, Commander?" the former Captain says, sounding bored.
"Well... Umm," she stammers.
Red, and blue blaster bolts whiz by his face as he runs full speed. He lets out a viscous roar, and blasts energy out of both his hands, sending large numbers of the pirates into the air. He's made his way out of the mess hall, and his making his way down a corridor, heading for one of their boarding vessels.
Five more pirates appear at the end of the corridor. He picks up one of the fallen, zaps him with lightning, and throws him into the group. He smashes into his friends with an electrical explosion, sending them all flying into the air.
"Do you think we can trust him?" Rex says.
"I don't know," Ahsoka says. "He did save us, and he did come to save them."
"One of us should have gone in there with him."
She shrugs her shoulders.
"He seems capable enough."
He ducks to avoid a blaster bolt, the bolt flies into one of the pirates behind him. He twists, and lashes out, striking down a pirate with his lightsaber. He moves quickly, and methodically through the pirates, cutting them down, tossing them aside, shocking them with lightning, their blaster bolts, and blasting them with waves of kinetic energy until no more pirates appear in the corridor.
He walks to the boarding vessel, and checks inside. No more pirates inside. He goes to the aft of the ship, and trashes the engine controls with a few well places lightsaber strikes.
"It's getting bad. You'd better get to the bridge."
"Have they been compromised?"
"They're holding for now, but the pirates have reinforcements on the way."
"Where are the reinforcements coming from?"
"Four decks above you, port side."
"On my way."
He goes back to the elevator, up four floors, round the corridor to the port side of the ship. At the end of the corridor, he sees a large group of pirates coming his way, likely headed for the elevator that he just came from. They see his lightsabers, and start shooting. He charges towards them quickly, deflecting their bolts back at them. He reaches a hand forward, and shoots lightning into the group. Blue strings of lightning bridge from each pirate to the other.
Starkiller runs right into the center of them, slashing, ducking, dodging, blocking, and slashing until all the pirates lay at his feet. He presses a finger to his ear, activating his comm.
"The reinforcements are taken care of. Heading for the bridge."
"Understood."
He heads back to the elevator, presses the button for deck one, and waits. The doors open, and he can feel fear emanating from ahead. He hears blasterfire, and screaming. He hurries down a narrow corridor, then sees pirates taking cover on both sides of a large blast door. They've bypassed the lock, and the door is nearly all the way open.
"Our reinforcements shall arrive anytime now. You have no chance," a pirate says, then fires his blaster blindly into the room. "Give up!"
Starkiller walks quietly towards them. He throws both his sabers in a wide arc, spinning like a boomerang. They cross each other in mid air, pass through the group of pirates, cutting them down. They start making their return trip, and cross each other again. He catches them both with ease, then turns them off, and holsters them.
He walks into the bridge with his hands out in surrender. A blaster bolt explodes into the wall beside him, stopping him cold.
"Who are you?" a female voice calls.
"Lieutenant Forbes?" Starkiller says.
The young blonde woman steps out from behind a console, aiming her blaster squarely at his head in a threatening manner. She wears a light blue jumpsuit.
"That's me. Who are you?" She brandishes the blaster for emphasis.
He resists a strong urge to roll his eyes.
"My ship picked up your distress call. I'm here to help you."
"How do I know you aren't one of them?"
He does roll his eyes this time.
"Do I look like one of them?"
She pauses for a while, then shakes her head.
"No, you don't."
"Then can you get that gun out of my face?"
She lowers the weapon, holding it pointed to the ground at waist level.
"Sorry," she says.
He shrugs.
"Are you the ranking Officer?"
"The First Mate's dead. Last we heard the Captain was trying to fight them off in the engine room."
He nods, and presses his finger to his comm.
"I've reached the bridge, and found Forbes. She says the Captain is in the engine room. Can you tell if he's still alive?"
"Standby," she pauses. "Looks like there's a good number of pirates still trying to break in, and a small contingent of crew holding them off."
"Which deck?"
"Looks like deck nine."
"Copy, on my way."
"Who are you talking to?" Forbes asks.
"My crew," he says, then walks out of the bridge.
A few minutes later, the elevator doors open, and he steps onto deck nine's main corridor. He can feel pirates somewhere nearby. He touches his comm.
"I'm guessing they have all the doors blocked," he says.
"Looks like it," Ahsoka answers.
He walks the corridor, and turns towards the center of the ship. A few turns, and he sees a group of about a two dozen pirates, trying to force open the engine room door. He ignites his lightsabers, and walks towards them, shoulders squared, eyes narrowed. They hear him, and turn, but too late. He cuts three of them down with his first blow.
He infuses his sabers with lightning, and strikes the floor, blasting out a shockwave of electrical energy. He presses in closer, right into the thick of them, blades slashing with lightning speed, cleaving flesh and bone. In mere seconds, all two dozen pirates have fallen. Starkiller stands in the middle of a heap of bodies, eyes closed, chest rising, and falling slowly.
"I'm not reading anymore pirates on your level," Ahsoka says.
"See if you can find me a way into the engine room."
"No need," Ahsoka says. "I've reestablished communications from the bridge to the engine room."
The door opens in front of Starkiller, and an older, bald, human man with a light blue jumpsuit stands in front of him, two blasters hanging in shoulder holsters.
"You Starkiller?" he says.
"Yeah, you the Captain?"
He nods.
"Captain Rodgers, at your service. Your crew got our internal communications back up, and appraised us on the situation. Thanks for the assist."
Starkiller shrugs.
"Lieutenant Forbes?" the Captain says into a comm.
"Sir?" her garbled voice replies through a speaker.
"Sit-rep."
"Most of the boarding parties have been repelled, though we've suffered some heavy casualties. It looks like they're retreating to their boarding vessels, but..." she trails off.
"But what Lieutenant?" the Captain says forcefully.
"They've taken many of the children."
"Can we stop them before they get to their ships?" Starkiller says quickly.
"No," Forbes answers. They will reach the shuttles before the elevator can reach the proper deck."
Rodgers curses loudly, and punches the wall, his knuckles come away bloody. Starkiller presses his finger to his ear, and starts heading back for the elevator, walking purposely. Captain Rodgers, and a few crew members follow him.
"Ahsoka, prepare the hyperdrive. We're going after them."
"Once they jump into hyperspace, we won't be able to track them," she says.
"We won't have to," Starkiller says. "Just get the hyperdrive ready."
"Okay," she says. "Anything else?"
"Let me know when they jump to hyperspace, and be ready to plot a course."
"Aye."
He presses the call button on the elevator.
"You care to tell us your plan?" Rodgers says.
"I trashed the engines on one of their shuttles," he says. "If I can hack into the on board computer-"
"Then we should have access to their network," Ahsoka cuts in. "Brilliant."
He hadn't realized that he left his finger on the comm.
"I'm so glad you approve," he says dryly, then turns back to Captain Rodgers. "I should be able to gain access to their network."
"With that, you can see their current position, and charted course," the Captain surmises.
They both step onto the elevator, and Starkiller presses the button for the deck he was on when he trashed the shuttle. The doors close for a few seconds, then open again. They step off, and Starkiller leads the Captain to the shuttle, sensing no threat in the shuttle or on the deck, he steps inside, and heads to the forward cabin.
"They've jumped to hyperspace," Ahsoka says.
He checks the instruments, and sits down at the pilot's chair. He goes over the controls a few times, letting the force guide him. He presses a few buttons, and a holo display appears over the console. He presses a few more buttons.
"That's it," Ahsoka says. "I'm in their network. I can see everything."
"Where are they going?" Starkiller asks.
"Their course keeps changing," Ahsoka says. "Like they're going in a circle... There! Tatooine. They're going to Tatooine."
"Plot a course, I'm on my way."
Lieutenant Forbes comes to the shuttle, her face whiter than a sheet. She looks up at the Captain with teary eyes.
"They took her," she says. "She's gone."
The Captain looks at Starkiller.
"Her little sister, Moya. She's seven."
Starkiller turns to Forbes.
"We're going to bring her back- we're going to bring them all back," he says evenly.
Author's note
*Edited for spelling errors 12-11-12*
Thank you Grz for the review. I appreciate it immensely. And thank you RKF22 for the review. I'll definitely try to keep it up, and improve if I can.
And thank you everyone who read it.
What do you think of the length? Are my chapters too long? I've seen some other stories with similar word counts, but they all seem to have many more chapters than I have.
Please leave me a review, and let me know how I'm doing. I'm always open to suggestions.
Thanks again. I hope to have the next part up soon, and I hope you all come back to read it.