Part VII
Brionia Sumptri looked nervously over her shoulder for the tenth time that night, despite the fact that she was in her own private room with the door closed and that it was hours before dawn still. Something just didn't feel right. Maybe it was nervousness.
She had waited patiently for a week, watching and anxious, wondering if Belotab had been wrong, if somehow they would find her after all- not that there would be much she could give away to the authorities besides her own small role as information-passer. And a rendez-vous…
If she didn't leave soon, she wouldn't make it on time. The flight to Excarga was a long one, and she wanted to be sure to have enough time to make a couple of decoy stops first.
In truth, she was terrified of what was to come next. Her former master, Niwali Tentatu, had sent her forth to continue her life's work; but she hadn't said much about what that work was. Just that things had changed, and Brionia would serve best if she could infiltrate Skywalker's new order, that someone would be in contact with her in due time.
And then Trina Belotab had materialized in her life when she found herself among those who worked maintaining Jedi/government relationships on Coruscant following the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war. Trina had been very explicit in her instructions, and Brionia was suddenly watching and listening- not spying, just being observant- to her fellow Jedi. Information was passed along, and still she waited, and all Trina told her was that, if something happened to Trina herself, Brionia would do best to try to escape.
She had given her a location with instructions to wait two weeks after Trina's capture or death before meeting representatives from above to receive further instructions. There was a recognition code that Niwali had given her more than a decade ago, that Trina had used to confirm her identity, and she wasn't sure if she would need that now.
For a grueling week, Brionia had jumped at shadows, not even relying on the Force to tell her she was alone and safe. When she passed along the information about Jaina and Jagged Fel bringing their daughter before the Masters to test her abilities, she'd not thought much of it. But she wasn't stupid. It was obvious that it had been the catalyst leading to the girl's abduction, and Trina's arrest and death were broadcast all over the HoloNet as related to the incident.
Now Brionia waited for vengeance from Jaina Solo's very intimidating family. As far as she saw it, her only hope for survival in the long-term was to meet with Trina's contacts at Excarga as planned in the hopes that they could protect her.
Shooting a last fleeting glance over her shoulder, Brionia reached out, sensed no one in the hallway outside her room, and opened the door. When it closed behind her again, she felt as though a part of her life was simply over, knowing that she'd never be able to set foot back inside the Jedi temple once she fled tonight. It wouldn't take the Masters forever to put together what had happened- of that, Brionia was sure.
Feeling more and more confident as she descended towards the lower hangar, she slung her travel bag over her shoulder and took up a faster pace. It was still early, but she knew that some of the temple's residents liked to get an early start on the day, and she needed to be long gone before anyone thought to look for her.
She almost made it.
As she turned into the hallway that led to the lower hangar, a tingling sensation ran down her spine. Before she could react, a blast of invisible energy sent her flying into the far wall, and with a light tug, her lightsaber spun free from her belt and soared into the outstretched hand of a tall, hooded and cloaked man.
Groaning and blinking stars out of her eyes, she tried to focus her vision as the man crouched in front of her and gripped her chin firmly, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Ma- Master Durron?" she choked. "What are you…?"
"Shut up," he snapped, jerking her head slightly. "How long have you been spying for them?"
"I- I don't know what…"
"I don't have time for games," he snarled. "Either you tell me freely, or I'll pry the information from your brain, and believe me- that's a much more painful way of doing it."
She tried to control her anxiety. "I didn't know about the girl," she pleaded. "I just sent information."
"To whom?"
Swallowing heavily, she tried to pull her face from his grasp, but he was unrelenting, searching her eyes for the truth of what she said. "Trina Belotab. I don't know anything else."
He smiled thinly. "I think I can be the judge of that. How long?"
On the verge of tears, she controlled her breathing. "Since the temple on Coruscant opened. But I spent years before that waiting to be contacted."
"On the orders of Niwali Tentatu?"
She nodded as best she could.
"Where are you going now?"
"I…" she trailed off as she felt Durron stiffen. Moments later, echoing footsteps could be heard, and Brionia made a fast decision. Durron was angry and she suspected he'd be less-than-reluctant to use violence to get what he wanted. Someone else- anyone else- would at least give her the semblance of a fair proceeding… "Help!" she called, hoping desperately that they could hear her. With a snarl, Durron turned back to look at her. He opened his mouth, seemed to reconsider, raised the lightsaber he'd taken from her, and knocked her upside the head with the handle, sending her into black oblivion.
Kyp cursed the timing and, ignoring the faster footsteps, leaned over the younger woman, and pressed his fingertips to her temples, performing an act he hadn't since he had misguidedly stolen information about the Sun Crusher from the mind of scientist Qwi Xux when he had been just a teenager.
Rummaging fast and furiously, knowing he'd cause more damage doing this than he had intended, he pried relevant information from her head; it was fairly easy, since his interrupted interrogation had inadvertently drawn it to the forefront of her mind anyway. When he was satisfied that he had anything that could be of use, he closed his eyes and struck the memory of the encounter from her brain, and then went deeper, eliminating all knowledge of her espionage involvement- which, unfortunately, meant pulling entirely too much information about the last decade or so from her mind.
She would wake up and remember coming to Skywalker's praxeum on Yavin IV… would have vague recollections of being trained before then, knowledge of fighting the Yuuzhan Vong war, helping establish the new temple on Coruscant. But her entire purpose in all of that time was now gone, lost to the cool air of the temple- and to Kyp's own mind.
As he pulled his hand from her head, the footsteps rounded the corner. "Kyp?" he heard the confused voice of Kenth Hamner as the older man hurriedly approached the fallen Jedi. "What happened? I thought I heard Brionia call out…"
"Stop," Kyp raised the stolen lightsaber, unlit, but threatening. "Don't make me harm you as well, Kenth."
Hamner stepped back, shocked at the cold anger in his voice. "Kyp?" he asked quietly. "What's wrong?"
"Goodbye, Kenth."
And he turned and left, thanking the Force that Hamner was smart enough not to attempt to pursue him, instead turning his attention to the unconscious woman on the ground. If it had come to it, Kyp would have made a show of fighting him because now… now, he had to try to become who Brionia had been, until he stole her memories. Her next purpose had been to meet some unknown contacts on Excarga- hopefully, they didn't know who she was either. Otherwise, this would all be for nothing.
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
Jaina looked sadly at Jacen and Zekk, who promised to remain diligent, pursuing any leads, however unlikely, while Jaina and Jag left with her parents to rendez-vous with the Fourth Fleet near Gyndine. It was a long shot, but they were hoping that Pellaeon might have some insight in regards to the old codes used, or that he could at least point them in the right direction of where to start researching the matter. The Imperial records would, undoubtedly, be of more use in this particular matter than the sketchy ones from that time period held by the GA joint archives.
Jacen hugged her tightly and fed reassurances to her through the Force. They didn't particularly help, but she smiled her thanks and turned to Zekk, who pulled her into another fierce embrace. "We'll find her, Jaina. Half the galaxy is on it by now."
Jag shook their hands in turn before hoisting their light travel cases. Moments before they stepped out the door of the Solos apartment, however, Leia's comlink beeped. Frowning, she pulled it from her belt and thumbed it on. "Yes?"
"Leia, it's Corran, I'm sorry to bother you."
Her brows rose in surprise. "Corran," she acknowledged, "what can I do for you?"
"I know you're about to take off, but your family might want to stick around. Something's… happened. Here at the temple. The Masters are preparing to meet. I don't want to say much more right now."
"Oh… okay," she glanced around at Han, Jaina, and Jag, who shrugged, momentarily distracted from their troubles. "We'll be right there." She switched off the comlink and turned to Jacen and Zekk. "You guys coming?"
The six of them barely fit into the speeder for the short trip across the couple of kilometers to the temple. Jaina was glad for the foresight to deposit Threepio at the Falcon early to start the preflight checking sequence.
The temple was relatively empty, and they found many of its inhabitants in the Masters' meeting chamber. Also present were Luke, Mara, Kam, and Tionne, via holopad, and a Jedi woman of around thirty who Jaina vaguely recognized but couldn't place her name.
"Ah," Kenth Hamner stood upon their entrance, "good, you made it." A low murmur of subdued greetings met Jaina's ears. She ignored them. "I know that these past few weeks have been trying on us all, and especially to the Fels and Solos," he inclined his head respectfully, "so I hate to bring a new problem to light."
"What is it, Kenth?" Luke asked, frowning heavily.
Hamner took a deep breath. "Mara, I think we know who memory-rubbed you several days ago. There was another incident in the lower levels of the temple this morning, and Jedi Sumptri here has been heavily affected by the assault."
Mara's voice was hard. "Who?" she demanded.
"Kyp Durron."
Jaina closed her eyes and willed her gut-wrenching shock to dissipate. Jag had warned them what Kyp had said, but never did she dream that this was what he meant. Toying with others' minds was dangerous, brink of dark-side behavior… depending how one used it, she supposed. He must have had a good reason for both acts- she hoped- but it didn't make it any easier to handle hearing about it.
"I awoke early," Hamner continued, "and was leaving my quarters to go up to an upper-level balcony to meditate, and I sensed a conflict of sorts… then I heard Brionia call for help. I found her unconscious outside the lower hangar, and Kyp was standing there, about to depart. He threatened me…" here, Hamner looked a little self-conscious, "I decided to see to Brionia instead of following. I have tangled with an angry Kyp Durron before, and am well aware that I would not come out on top of another such encounter," he flexed the fingers of his prosthetic hand unconsciously.
Luke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do we have any idea where Kyp has gone?" No one said anything, though Jaina thought she caught Corran Horn looking in her direction briefly. "Does anyone have any suggestions on how to handle this?"
Saba Sebatyne spoke in a low hiss. "This one thinkz a third slip iz too many timez to forgive. Dark business, this iz."
"What are you proposing, Saba?" Cilghal asked evenly, ever the mediator.
"These onez should expel him from the order."
Kyle Katarn spoke up softly. "We'd have to find him before we could really exact any sort of… consequences. And at the moment, I'm not sure how many resources we're really willing to put into tracking a rogue Jedi Master," his gaze flickered consolingly over Jaina and Jag.
"I think," Corran Horn's voice was somber, "that this council is overlooking one… disturbing possibility."
"What, Corran?" Mara asked sharply.
He looked remarkably reluctant, but forced himself to say it. "Due to the timing of recent events, can we ignore the possibility, however slim, that Durron was involved in the kidnapping of Leyla Fel?" A stunned, astonished silence met this question. "It might seem a long shot," he allowed, "but we don't know what transpired between Durron and Jedi Sumptri, nor between Durron and Mara, assuming it was in fact he who attacked her. He erased memories- in Jedi Sumptri's case, a lot of them, enough to affect some of her Jedi powers. What did she know? Why was he so desperate to keep her from talking?"
Luke looked skeptical, and Jaina couldn't tell if it was an act or if he was truly considering Corran's preposterous proposal. "Can you imagine any sort of a motive Kyp would have for kidnapping Jaina and Jag's child?"
Corran's gaze drifted slowly over Jaina, his head slightly tilted as though asking her something…
And she knew. With a heart-stopping suddenness, she realized that Corran Horn knew the truth, that somehow, he had learned of the true relationship between Kyp and Leyla. She shook her head ever so slightly, all the while trying to silently scream into his head not to say it, that he would jeopardize everything Kyp was trying to do…
Corran flinched and looked away. "No," he muttered softly. "I suppose not. I only bring it up because of the timing."
If anyone else had noticed the silent confrontation between Corran and Jaina, they didn't comment on it.
"I think," Luke said slowly, "that Master Katarn is right. Kyp Durron has always been… unmanageable, to a degree… and now is not the time to fight that fight. We can put out a watch for him, but I suspect he'll be traveling under a false identity for the time being. If we do learn anything of his location, perhaps we can follow up on it then."
The assembled group murmured their consent and parted ways. Avoiding Corran Horn, Jaina pushed her parents towards the door, eager to be on their way, where they could talk in relatively security aboard the Falcon.
End Part VII
A/N: uh oh… Kyp's in trouble…! :P