Last Knight

Chapter 2

Present time...

The Mandalorian...

He moved through the battlefield as he fired upon the republic soldiers. He'd become detached and almost mechanical as he gunned down the soldiers who were supposed to be his enemy. There was a time when he took pride in his work. The honor of his clan had always demanded the best from all clans men and women. He'd been one of the best his clan had.

He felt no such pride now as he continued to shoot soldiers. He had to wonder when he started to see them differently. He looked down at one of the fallen republic soldiers. The lad was little more than a boy. A boy he recognised. He'd been a cheerful lad in the days he'd gotten to know some of his captors. Always quick to ask Malcolm about some of his war stories. He'd liked the kid. And now that kid was dead. He couldn't even remember the boys name. He hated himself for not remembering. The boy deserved more than that. He deserved more than to be just another forgotten soldier. He tore his gaze from the boy as he took a hit to his chestplate. The beskar'gam armor protected him well enough. Not enough to block out the discharge though as he'd felt a painful surge from the impact.

He took cover behind some debris and shouldered his weapon as he took aim at yet another familiar face. "This is war... This is necesary..." He knew his words rang hollow with him as he squeezed the trigger of his blaster and ended the life of the man he had come to respect.

The grizzled veteran had never liked Malcolm much, since the day he'd been defeated and captured. But they'd come to respect one another over the weeks he'd been among them. He took aim once more.

This time, he paused. He saw her with her pike saber trading blows with the Sith Lord who'd hired him. "Nala... " He closed his eyes as he thought back to the weeks that had come before this event. If he could go back, he wondered if he'd do things differently. Make another choice. Perhaps he could've saved her from all of this. He squeezed his eyes shut as his emotions overwhelmed him.

He opened his eyes once more. He took careful aim. He fired...

17 days earlier...

The Jedi...

She'd woken up in a sweat. Sitting up in bed, she was completely drenched. As she tried to catch her breath, she'd found it wasn't all sweat. "Damn him..." She cursed herself. She'd let the man she now knew as Malcolm get to her. The dream had been intense and so real. After a moment, she had got her breathing under control and threw off her covers. She enjoyed the cool breeze on her bare skin. She paused as there was movement in the bed next to her. She hadn't even remembered taking someone to bed with her last night. She had a few drinks after her encounter with Malcolm, and hadn't remembered much after that. She silently slipped out of bed and headed for the refresher.

After a long cold shower, she Quickly dressed andslipped out of her room and wandered the halls of the temple. With luck, the man would be gone long before she returned to her room. She hadn't even remembered his name. Her master's would be displeased with her for her actions, as attachments were frowned upon. She didn't feel as though she'd done anything wrong as she hadn't felt anything at all for the man.

As she thought about that, her thoughts went back to Malcolm. She cursed herself again. "Damn that man..."

"Damn what man?" A voice came from behind Nala. She quickly turned and saw Master Picket. The small ewok Jedi could move quite silently when she wished to. She was one of the few Ewoks from Endor to become a Jedi, as most became shamans of their tribes and rarely left their homeworld. "Um... It's nothing, master..." Nala replied. "It doesn't sound like nothing.." said master Picket. "What brings you out so early in the morning?"

Nala sighed. "Dreams... I... I couldn't sleep." She looked at the master as she bit her lower lip. "It's nothing... really.." She knew it was a lie. She just hoped Master Picket wouldn't see through it.

"The arrival of the Mandalorian has had an effect on many." Master Picket said. "His arrival here and his purpose for being here... Is trohbling." Nala furrowed her brows as she replied. "Have you and the other masters discovered why he is here? Nala became anxious at master Pickets visible hesitation. The master was definitely worried about something. "No... Not entirely... " Master Picked finally replied. "The taint of the darkside he caries with him. The Sith are involved somehow... That, I am certain of."

The Mandalorian...

He was laying on the bunk in his cell when Nala entered. He raised an eyebrow and smirked as her flushed expression. "Back so soon? Did you miss me? He knew he was getting to her by the way she nervously bit her lower lip. He'd been about to say more when she broke in.

"The Sith are coming here... Aren't they?" She asked. Her question had caught him off guard. He'd considered lying. He wasn't entirely sure how much the masters had gotten out of him. Lying might make his situation worse. He shrugged. "They'll be everywhere... Eventually..." He looked at her and sat up as he swung his legs over the edge of the bunk and placed his feet on the ground before standing. He looked at her piercing blue eyes as he approached the transparasteel of his cell. Her raven black hair hung loose, only shoulder length. Her full lips were as enticing as the first time he'd seen them. At first glance, he'd thought her features plain enough. But as he looked at her now, he saw her striking beauty. Her expression was a mix of anger and worry. Somehow he found it even more beautiful. He felt a sudden desire to comfort her. It was an irrational thought and he quickly shook the thoughts away. He'd looked her over as she moved closer to his cell. Her body was sleek with a hint of muscle. He'd seen first hand what that body was capable of in a fight. He wondered briefly what she'd be like in bed. He'd been so distracted that he almost missed her words.

"How long do We Have?" There had been a slight tremble in her voice. He crossed his arms as he leaned against the transparasteel and eyed her with a sideways glance. "I honestly don't know... " He said. "Would you tell me if you did know?" She replied. "Ordinarily I'd say no... But for a beauty like you?" He smiled roguishly. "I could be tempted..."

He saw her flush again. It was almost too easy to push her buttons. He couldn't resist asking her this next part. "Did you think of me last night?" He smirked at the look on her face. "You did... Didn't you?"

"Shut up..." He heard her reply. He must have been pretty close to the mark as he saw how riled up he'd made her. "I'm a lot better in person... A dream has nothing on what I could do to you..." He smiled slyly. "Why don't you open the is cell and find out.." He laughed a bit as she stormed out of the room. "See you later then.." He turned and headed back to his bunk to get some rest. Or at least he thought so as the kid of a guard came with his evening meal. No doubt the kid wanted to hear another one of his stories. Eventually he was going to have to learn the kids name..

The Jedi...

She paced back and forth in her room. "Damn him... Damn that man.." She continued to pace in her room. She was angry at herself for letting him get to her the way he had. She'd learned nothing from their encounter that the masters hadn't already suspected. That in itself made it even worse.

"Damn him..." She cursed again. Her thoughts were interrupted as shed heard a knock on her door. She sighed and walked over to the door, thinking it had been the soldier she'd been with last night. The note he'd left seemed to indicate he'd formed some kind of attachment.

She opened the door and was already talking before she saw who was there. "Look... Last night was just a one time thing.. I..." her words cut off as she saw who was standing on the other side of her door. The Orange skinned togruta with a raised eyebrow and stern look had been the last person she expected to see tonight. "M...Master... It's uh... I mean, uh... What brings you hear? She'd stammered through her words, but had finally got her question out.

"A one time thing?" Master Venn asked with a raised eyebrow. She knew he did not approve of her extracurricular activities when she was not training or on duty. She saw him shake his head with a look of resignation. "Forget it... Indent want to know..." He'd cut her off with his response before she could speak. "You went to see the prisoner..." He'd said it as a statement and not a question.

She'd bowed her head and bit her lower lip. "Yes.. Yes master... I'm sorry... I know I should not have gone to see him." She looked up into his brown eyes as she continued on. "I had to know... Are the Sith really coming here?" She said with apprehension as she was sure she'd just overstepped her place.

She heard her master sigh. He and the other masters hadn't been able to get the Mandalorian to admit even that much to them. He looked at her and nodded once. Confirming her fears. "The Sith are coming..."

"What will we do?" She knew she shouldn't be pushing the way she was for information. But she had to know.

Her master sighed once more. He'd lectured her time and again about having patience and trusting the masters to do what's best. But She'd always been too fiery and independent to leave it at that, and her master knew it. With reluctance, he answered. "A fleeting in route to join our forces here. The republic intends to lay a trap." He'd barely contained a smirk as he'd seen her light up at his words. He continued on. "The Jedi high council agrees with the supreme chancellors decision. We will get as much information from the Mandalorian as we can... We believe we still have time before the Sith arrive... "

Anything else her master was about to say, was cut off as the ground suddenly shook and what she though was the sound of an explosion could be heard in the distance. Her eyes wide, she looked at her master whom had a look of concern on his face as he looked down the corridor. "It came from the detention cells..." She barely had time to register his words as her instincts took over and she was off, heading towards the detention cells as she drew on the force to augment her speed.

She slid to a stop just outside Malcolm's cell. The boy whom she'd seen when she stormed out earlier was staggering to his feet, in a daze. She'd heard her master ask the boy what had happened, but as she stared at the cell, it was painfully obvious as she saw the big gaping hole in the back wall of the cell and the forest beyond. She cursed. Malcolm had escaped.

The Mandalorian...

He was running through the forest as sirens sounded somewhere behind him. They'd be looking for him in mass. He He didn't have much time and he knew it. With this many Jedi in one place, they'd be hot on his trail soon. Footsteps kept pace with him just ahead and to his right. He looked at the back of a droid as it moved ahead of him. It was an imperial assassin model. And it was worth every credit he'd spent on it. It was sleek and black. It's face looked like a human skull with red photoreceptors that had a mild glow. And it was as deadly as it came. He called it Zeke, as it was a ZK-79 model and top of its line. He glanced back once to make sure no one was immediately behind them as he called out to Zeke.

"What the hell took you so long?" He said. "Is that any way to greet your rescuer?" He had no clue where his droid had been programmed, because no droid should be this snarky. His droid continued on. "It takes time and planning to stage a jail break, master... Studying patrol routes and behavioral patterns... Learning the layout.. Spying and listening in on conversations to find out where you were being held... The calculations of success alone would fry your organic brain..." Yup. He was sure his droid just insulted his inteligence.

"Enough!!!" He said. "Did you bring me a weapon at least?" He asked. "Oh master... So little faith..." Zeke almost sounded condescending. "Of course I did... It is with your spare armor I stashed ahead..." He would need to,see about adjusting Zeke's programming.

He continued to keep pace with Zeke as they moved swiftly through the forest. "I assume then that there's a plan beyond this to avoid me being recaptured? He asked, knowing he'd probably get a snarky response.

"Of course, master..." He swore he could hear a sarcastic tone in the droids voice. "You're just not going to like it..."

The jedi...

She was angry with herself as she ran through the forest, for even considering for one moment that she'd felt any kind of attraction for Malcolm as she rushed through the forest. He worked for the Sith. She knew he was the enemy. She should've known he'd attempt an escape. She couldn't really blame him though. It's what she'd have done. The only question was how.he did it. She slid to a stop and closed her eyes.

Reaching out with the force, she tried to get a sense of him as she focused on the thoughts she'd had of him. She knew it was foolish to think there was a connection between them as they hadn't known each other all that well. She just had a feeling she couldn't shake. She'd been about to give up on the idea when she felt something. It was small and felt distant, but it was there. She opened her eyes and looked east.

It was a foolish hope, but it was a chance she had to take. Drawing on the force to boost her stamina and speed, she moved like a blur through the forest as she headed east.

She'd been feeling foolish for trusting in her feelings and was about to give up when she began to see signs that someone had been through here. She skidded to a stop once more when she spotted Malcolm's discarded jumpsuit. Her eyebrows raised and her face flushed as she had a moment at which she could see him running naked through the forest. She flushed more and shook the thought aside as she examined the area.

It was as she searched the area for his trail that she noticed there were two sets of footprints. It confirmed a theory she had that Malcolm hadn't been alone here. But if that had been true, why hadn't anyone sensed It? She crouched down by a set of footprints. One was from a set of boots. The other, however, seemed odd to her. Upon a closer look, she understood why. "He had a droid..." Her voice was barely a whisper asshe'd spoken to herself.

She studied the tracks more and found out the direction they'd headed off in. It took her a moment to remember what was in that direction. "Oh pudu..." She cursed. They were heading into the massasi valley where the tomb of Exar Kun was located. That valley was home to some very vicious predators. They were drawn to that valley by the darkside. Even now she could feel it's pull. The darkside was a temptation she had a problem with resisting. She knew she'd strayed that way in the past. The maker only knows how many times she'd received lectures for it. She cursed a few more times.

She knew she should go back and get the masters. But as she looked towards the valley ahead, she knew if she didn't go after him now, he'd surely escape. It was a risk she couldn't take. Her mind made up, she headed into the valley ahead as she prepared to face whatever dangers came her way.