Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.

Note: Okay, guys, I'm on vacation next week and probably won't be back until Sunday. As such there will NOT be an update on Saturday (sorry) but, I will try and get the update to you on Sunday/Monday depending on how much time I have to make the last minute edits, etc...

Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers/readers/subscribers and to Liisiko for her awesome beta-skills.

CHAPTER 12 - Altercations

Location: Selonia

The Selonians' strength made moving Galen look incredibly easy and, with no trouble at all, they carried him across the sand, up the loading ramp of the ship and set him carefully down on the makeshift bed.

Immediately, Juno went to work, finding bandages and scouring the shelves for bacta supplies – unwilling to wait for the Selonians to arrive with their own medicines. Then, with an armful of materials, she knelt down beside the bed and unzipped his flight suit, lifting his head with one hand as she struggled to ease the clothing down from his shoulders.

Lesew set a hand on Knim's shoulder and gave her a small push forwards.

Juno looked up.

"Hello, Human." The small one greeted. Her voice was quiet and high-pitched and Juno guessed that she may have been about ten years old – assuming they grew at a similar rate to Humans. "I help?"

Juno's eyes flicked nervously up to Lesew who stood wordlessly in the doorway. The other two guards had already departed, though Juno guessed that they wouldn't have gone far. Clearing her thoughts, she returned her gaze back to Knim and gave a short nod. "Could you hold his head for me whilst I try and get to his wounds?"

Knim nodded, moving slowly around to stand beside the woman. Juno guessed that the child was more shy than afraid. After all, with Lesew and the others to guard her from danger, fear wasn't something a Selonian child would feel very frequently.

"Like…this?"

"That's right." Trusting the child to hold him still, she finally managed to loosen the garment enough to work it down off of his shoulders – one at a time. The plain blue shirt beneath was darkened with patches of drying blood, though Juno hoped it did not all belong to him.

"We need to turn him. Do you understand?"

Knim took a moment to process the words; clearly thinking hard about them. She nodded. "Yes."

Together, they shifted him onto his side and, with a sharp blade; Juno cut the shirt away from his back, wincing at the fabric sticking to the oozing wounds. The one on his shoulder was only one of three cruel marks that had cut into flesh. Another wound slashed horizontally across his lower back, tapering at the edges. Yet another curved across his side, which was sporting some horrific, purple-black bruising. The bruising probably signified broken ribs. Another short, jagged wound in his saber-burned shoulder had started to bleed profusely.

Pushing her panic away – knowing that he'd had worse injuries before – she began the task of cleaning each one; her own shoulder throbbing as if suddenly being reminded how it, too, had been injured.

Knim watched her with large, inquisitive eyes.

"He still lives, my Master." Came the grating, chilling voice of the Dark Lord himself. He sat in his personal quarters aboard the Executor, his armor still showing signs of ruin. At his side, a droid hummed quietly as it worked on making essential repairs to the suit that kept the Sith alive.

"And what of the other, Lord Vader?"

"Alive." The respirator in his helmet gave a strange mechanical whine – clearly not yet fixed. "All three targets have gathered. It will not be long, now."

There was a moment of silence and the hooded figure in the holographic panel lifted his head. "When your clone has finished his task, he will be of no more use to us." He snarled. "Kill him."

"As you wish, my Master."

Galen woke slowly, becoming aware of his injuries one by one. A burning in his shoulder, back and side. An ache across his chest that made breathing awkward. Tingling, shallow cuts on his face and arms. His throat felt dry and raw and there was a gritty texture, like sand, in his mouth.

Voices – strangely muffled – drew him from his pain and though he struggled to focus on the words, he found the tone of them soothing.

"When I older, I go to Corellia."

"To learn languages?"

"Yes. To take over from Terreef. She old. Soon to die. Then I teach some language to all of den-sisters."

"How old are you now?"

"Seven years old. When I nine, I go to Corellia."

"What about Lesew? And Retto? What do they do?"

"Lesew is…best warrior. I not sure what you call them in your language."

"I thought she led your people until Terreef took Kota to meet your queen. The others seem to respect her greatly."

"No. Lesew is…cannot have pups."

"Infertile?"

"Yes. Most are."

"Oh…"

"We protect our queen and the males and one another."

"Your numbers seemed mainly female."

"Males also…rare. Retto one of three in den. Females bigger. Stronger. Our den is quite small compared to some."

Another voice chattered in a dialect that was unfamiliar, but the words were translated by the same trilling voice. "He wants to know why we speak his name."

Footsteps echoed and another entered the room. Galen knew it was Kota even before the old man spoke.

"He's awake."

There was movement and a light, warm pressure on his arm. His fingers twitched and a gentle touch on his face finally encouraged him to prise his eyes open. It was harder than he thought possible.

"Galen?"

"I'm…still alive, then?"

"Don't sound so surprised."

He tried to sit up but a firm grip on his good shoulder kept him in place. "Don't try to move just yet. Here, drink this." The rim of a cup was set against his mouth and he slaked his thirst.

When he spoke again, his voice sounded clearer. "What's the damage?"

"You've had worse." Juno replied. "You've got lacerations to your shoulder, your side and your back. Broken ribs. Bruising all over your torso." She shook her head. "There's another deep wound on your shoulder, but the Selonians gave us something to staunch it with. The rest are minor injuries. A few scrapes, is all." Oh, and you almost drowned...

"Selonians?" Holes in his short-term memory started to fill up again. He blinked. "The ship crashed."

"It did. You were rescued by one of the locals."

He pushed himself up into a sitting position and though a hand tried to prevent it, he prevailed, noting the faces in the room. Standing next to Juno was a small Selonian – perhaps the one he had heard speaking to her before. Next to her was a taller one with large, bright eyes. A male. Retto, then? In the doorway - hunched so that her head didn't knock against the ceiling - was the largest Selonian of all. He recognized her.

"You! Where's my lightsaber?"

The Selonian growled and barked out words in her own language. The small child near Juno replied and a conversation broke out between them. After a moment, Lesew took a step forwards, drawing up next to Kota, and handed the older Jedi the weapon. She, at least, seemed to have some wary trust for him.

"What happened to your other saber?" Kota asked.

Galen's hand touched the empty clip on his belt and his face contorted with uncertainty. "Must have lost it."

Kota's gaze darkened. "We need to talk about what happened up there, boy."

"Can't this wait?" Juno asked.

"No. It can't."

The pilot frowned but Galen's touch on her hand disarmed her irritation.

"He was waiting for me on the bridge. We…fought. He was powerful. Really powerful." He winced at remembering the wounds inflicted on him. "But there was…something wrong with him. He was so full of rage and hate." Even the original Starkiller had not been as dark-minded as that when under the service of the Empire. "I think he was suffering from visions. They…they seemed to be causing him physical pain."

"A side effect of the cloning process. Yes, I know what you're thinking."

"Kota…" He hesitated; very aware of Juno's presence.

"Or." The old Jedi continued. "It's just as likely to stem from something else. Don't let your fear cloud your judgment." He gave a low growl, dismissing Galen's concerns with startling ease. "What we need to know, boy, is whether or not you killed him."

The question rekindled the memory of his recent vision and, grimly, Galen shook his head. "No. He's still alive."

"But he can't have gotten out completely unscathed." Juno reasoned.

"Unscathed or not, he could pose a very real danger to the people here. I'll need to report this back to their queen." Kota glanced across at Knim to see if she'd grasped their conversation. Her face indicated that much of what had been spoken had been too fast to make a lot of sense, but she did grasp the fact that something important had been discovered and that the appropriate Selonians needed to be informed.

"Retto take you to Queen." She informed, giving the young male his orders.

"Wait." Juno interrupted. "You already met this queen? What do you think she will say?"

Kota gave an impatient growl. "Hardly a meeting. She was busy and discarded me after a couple of minutes. Truth be said, I didn't have much news for her. She'll be interested in this, though, if she cares about her people."

Retto was already at the door, pausing to ensure the Jedi was following. Lesew watched them go, her expression shrewd as she stepped back into place by the doorway.

Only then did Juno lean down and press a tender kiss to Galen's mouth.

"Get some rest, okay?" She gave him a gentle smile.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go check the sensor readings."

"Is he…your mate?" Knim spoke up without warning, childlike in her curiosity and surprise.

Juno gave a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I-I guess so. Yes."

"You are quite small." Knim continued. "For a queen."

"We, uh…yes, I suppose I might be." Juno decided that it would be better not to get into a conversation about the differences between their species and their culture.

Behind her, she heard Galen stifle an amused laugh.

"Will you be heading back to the den, soon?" Juno asked.

"Yes. Lesew and guards will stay."

"Then thank you for your help."

Juno didn't need to turn around to see who had entered the cockpit. She recognized him by his footsteps on the grille panels beneath his feet.

"So this is where my queen has been hiding."

"Working, not hiding." She corrected, ignoring his teasing. "And you should be resting."

"I was." A pause. "I am." He rolled his eyes, easing himself gingerly into the co-pilot chair, being careful not to aggravate his bandaged wounds. "Couldn't sleep."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Honestly?" She cast him a disbelieving look.

"You've seen it yourself, I've had worse."

She flipped one of the switches on the console to continue reviewing the data, her eyes running over the new figures coming through. There was no point in trying to convince him to get some rest. He always had been too stubborn for his own good.

"Anything?"

"Not yet." She replied wearily.

"Has Kota been back?"

"Only briefly."

"So where is he now?"

"Waiting for another audience with Her Highness, I expect."

"What exactly have they been discussing?" He touched a hand to his side and drew in a short breath.

"Apparently he told her that he was…"

"…happy to provide assistance."

The queen shifted indecisively and spoke in broken Basic. It had been a long time since she had needed to use it. "You want kill?"

Kota hesitated. "We will bring him to justice. If he refuses to surrender, we may be left with little choice."

The queen cut him off. "You kill, then. No use pretty words." She settled herself more comfortably into her chair and crossed a leg over a knee. She was a large but overweight, black-pelted female who blended well with the dim light of the dens. Her muzzle bore old battle wounds, the fur growing back in odd tufts that gave her a somewhat roughened look. Small glowing lights had been set out to aid the Human in their midst. He did't tell them that light mattered little when it came to his sight.

"He no want us. He want you. You go. He go. Simple, yes? We no want your war here."

"He is too dangerous to risk leaving here. Whether you are a target or not, your people could be in grave danger. It would be folly to ignore this."

The queen growled in her throat and he adjusted his words for her to better understand: "To ignore this would be dangerous."

Her eyes narrowed but she already seemed to know that what Kota spoke was truth. "Tell plan."

"I will head into the ship and locate the Sith."

"Alone?"

"If need be. Yes."

"Other Jedi not go?"

Kota rubbed at the bristles on his chin. "It would be wise for one of us to remain here, in case of trouble."

Terreef interrupted. "My Queen. It might be wise to listen to Jedi's warnings. If Sith very powerful, we may need help."

"We need?" The dark female thundered. "He need!" Too angry to continue in Basic, she exploded into a fiery tirade in her own language. The elderly female hunkered down and, from the doorway; Kota heard the young male – Retto – back hastily away.

The queen was an intimidating creature. Unlike the other females, she was wide through the middle; probably through the lack of training the warriors went through, combined with the many children she had borne. Being so large and tall made her seem gigantic, especially when compared to the hunched figure of Terreef or the slender adolescent male.

Her tail slapped down against the ground and, with a snarl, she turned to Kota and ordered him out.

He complied.

"So where is the old man, now?"

"Still waiting, I should think. I don't know how long they intend to keep him holding out for a decision."

"Too long. Without a doubt."

Her shoulders sagged. "What do you think we should do?"

"The way I see it we have two options. One; we sit here and wait for the Sith to show up – which he will eventually. Or, two, we take the initiative and find him before he regains some of his strength. There's clear advantages in making the first move."

"And when you say 'we', who do you mean, exactly?"

"…Me."

Her face darkened. "Kota won't be sidelined again and don't think I'm just going to stand back and watch you go back into that ship alone."

"Kota's out of his league."

"And in your current state, you're not?"

Galen's brow furrowed. "I am stronger."

She gave an infuriated growl and leapt to her feet. "Stop being so stubborn and let us help you."

"You already are helping."

"There is strength in numbers. I kept Kota out of the battle before and look what happened. I almost lost you again. Don't make me sit back and go through that again. Please."

He stood to meet her. "If he had boarded that ship it could have been a lot worse. No. It would have been worse. If Kota had it his way, he wouldn't even be alive now."

"You don't know that!"

"I saw it, Juno. The visions don't lie."

"Fine. So you saw him die and you kept him from the ship. The danger has passed now, hasn't it? The ship is lying half-submerged in the ocean. Let him help you."

"I can't let him on there. Not until I'm certain the risk has been eliminated."

"How did he die?" She pressed. "Galen? In your vision, how did he die? Vader's apprentice kills him?"

Galen continued to hesitate, glancing away.

"Galen! Talk to me." She grabbed his arm and his eyes snapped fiercely to meet hers.

"It's me. I kill him!"

She fell into a stunned silence, but only for a moment. "No. I don't believe it. Not for one minute. Why would you even do that?"

"Because I'm…"

"What? Going mad? Listen to what you're suggesting! You're driving yourself mad with that way of thinking. You can't keep doing this, Galen. How many times do I have to say it to make you believe it?" She grabbed him by the wrist and gave it a sharp tug to get his attention. The motion jarred his wounded shoulder and his mouth twisted into a thin line.

"I won't stand by and watch you throw yourself into danger again. Especially not when it could be avoided. I won't." She eyed him furiously. "Think about it for a moment. How would you feel if the role was reversed?"

"But you don't—"

"—Stop." She held up a hand. "Just stop."

"Can't you understand why I need to do this? I'm trying to protect you. Both of you!"

The sound of swift feet approached and one of the Selonian guards stormed in through the doorway, ordering them firmly in her own language.

Galen's arm swept up automatically, bringing with it a sweep of Force power that sent the alien hurtling back the way it had come. A second later and Lesew leapt over the body of her stunned comrade; crossing the room in almost a single stride. With a snarl, she slammed Galen back against the console, pinning him there.

Juno saw the anger in his eyes and a crackle of blue light scuttled down across his forearms. The Selonian's grip tightened.

"Stop!" The word burst from her panic-stricken lungs. "Stop. Please."

Galen's body remained tense, but he was able to restrain himself from lashing out. Lesew's grip tightened, her claws piercing the surface of his skin.

Juno, lifting both hands soothingly, edged closer. "Please, Lesew. Stop. He wasn't going to hurt me or anyone else."

The guard – who had been knocked back by the blast of Force – had recovered and was drawing closer too, her glaive raised threateningly.

"Stop!" Juno cried. "No. No!"

Lesew's head swung around, clearly recognizing the word 'no'.

"Stop."

In the end, it was probably the look on Juno's face that got the message through. Lesew's grip relaxed and after a moment she stepped back, lifting an arm to ward off the guard at her side.

"Ugh." Galen sagged forwards, grasping at his injured side. His face was white and the bandages were stained with fresh blood from his array of injuries.

Juno was at next to him in seconds, tucking herself in against his side – his arm looped loosely about her neck.

A moment later and Kota burst into the cockpit, Retto close behind him. "Someone care to explain what's going on here?" He looked furious, his eyes boring into Galen. "Boy?"

"It's my fault, General." Juno replied, helping seat Galen back in his chair.

Kota ignored her. "Starkiller?"

Galen grimaced. "Just a misunderstanding."

"Control your emotions, boy! Now is not the time to start making enemies among the people here. You'd better hope this little mishap doesn't have their queen going back on her agreement." He eyed Lesew who was watching them intently.

"She reached a decision?" Juno asked, sounding surprised.

He gave a gruff sound of acknowledgment.

"Well at least that's something."

"Don't get too excited. There's still time for her to go back on her word and, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't blame her if she did."

"We were…having a disagreement." Juno admitted. "Lesew must have thought he posed a threat."

"Must have been some disagreement."

"Juno doesn't want me to help." Galen growled.

"You don't even know what the plan is yet." Kota replied.

"That's not what I said, Galen." Juno interrupted, turning her gazer back to Kota. "He had his own plan and it involved him going off by himself."

Kota scowled. "And you going in on your own worked out brilliantly the last time, didn't it, boy?"

Galen said nothing and Kota turned his attention back to Juno.

"Can you get in contact with Viedas' men?"

"Sure." Her face looked deeply troubled as she turned to tap into their frequency, stepping aside to give Kota room when it was done.

"This is Kota. Respond."

The line crackled. "Receiving you, General."

"Good. Now, listen up. I'll need you to bring that ship down at first light. That's at 05:00 hours. We'll be on the shore ready for pick up. Ready the men. We're moving in on the downed XF-32. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Kota out." He closed the line and straightened. "That gives me some time to prepare."

"Prepare for what?" Galen asked, though he clearly had his suspicions.

"That is none of your concern, boy."

"You can't!" He was on his feet again, moving back towards the old Jedi, ever tenacious. "I won't let you do this. I've fought him once before, remember? What makes you think you stand any chance?"

"You might be stronger but the way you are at the moment, I'd say that I stand a better chance at beating him than you."

Galen's eyes flashed and Kota retaliated by jabbing him in the ribs.

Anger was interrupted by a flare of pain. The broken ribs were clearly causing more pain than he was letting on.

"I've fought in a worse condition before. This is no different." He hissed between his teeth.

And he certainly had.

The memory of one of his first missions as Vader's assassin rang clear in his mind. He couldn't remember the target now (some foolish politician, perhaps?) but he remembered the escape from the huge estate. He remembered being tackled by guards and falling…falling. He'd landed awkwardly from a great height and broken his arm in three places. One break had been so bad that the bone had torn out through the flesh; its edge splintered and sharp. The limb had hung limp at his side as he'd battled his way past a swarm of attack droids.

"If it was just physical injuries, I'd be inclined to agree with you." Kota replied, his tone gentler. "But it isn't." He tapped his own temple. "It's what's going on up there that's worrying me."

Galen tried to come up with a response.

Tried and failed.

To be continued...