CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW
LUX
"It's not a geode," Tandin breathes. "It's an egg."
He approaches and rests his hand on the petrified surface. "I never thought I would see one of these in my life."
"What kind of egg is it?" Ahsoka asks. "Fambaas don't look big enough to lay something like this."
"Only one beast lays eggs like this," I gulp. "The drexl."
Ahsoka raises an eye marking. "Don't drexls only live on Dxun?"
"When the moon's atmosphere touches Onderon's, they can fly down to the planet, but the last time that happened was during the Beast Wars. There haven't been any drexls on Onderon for a thousand years."
"The Naddists must have wanted to keep one egg handy," Saw shivers. "Tandin, good move taking the relics away from Rash. If he'd gotten his hands on a drexl, we'd all be toast."
In more ways than one. In so many words, the drexl is Onderon's very own dragon. Even a baby drexl could wreak havoc in the skies and crush the rebellion before we even knew what hit us. Rash would have been unstoppable with one on his side.
Ahsoka touches the egg and either I'm crazy or something stirs inside it.
"It's in stasis," she announces. "It would take a Force user to hatch it."
"Still wouldn't have stopped Rash. Dooku could have sent an acolyte over to hatch it for him."
Ahsoka removes her hand as if to prevent herself from accidentally awakening the drexl. "And he certainly would have. A beast like this…" She trails off, probably because she doesn't want to imagine herself as drexl flambé. To be honest, I don't want that mental image either.
Tandin swallows hard and sets the blade on the floor before the altar.
I follow his lead with the glass and the ring, setting them all in a line.
We turn back to Saw, still holding the music box.
"We have to," I say and place my hand on his bicep. "There's no other way."
Saw closes his eyes and opens the lid one last time to hear the nameless, wordless tune filter from the box. The music which sounds like my mother's voice, Ahsoka's voice, and to Saw's (and even a little to mine) Steela's, even though I never heard her sing.
The familiar tune completes its first cycle and switches to something else so seamlessly you would never hear it unless you were listening.
O brother, brother…
Saw's eyes snap open and meet mine in a look of recognition. For some reason the box is playing "St. Joanna's Song."
St. Joanna, for those who don't know, was a fourteen-year-old Unifras girl killed by the Naddists during the Beast Wars. Martyrdom unfortunately wasn't too uncommon during the Naddist oppression and under normal circumstances Joanna would simply have been forgotten like the scores of other martyrs. But a few days after she died, Joanna appeared to her brother and gave him a speech which was pretty … unsaintly.
So violent and full of vengeance was Joanna's speech that there was a fair amount of discourse over whether or not she should be sainted, but since she met all the other requirements for sainthood it ultimately happened. Someone set her words to music, and "St. Joanna's Song" was born.
Saw and I don't break eye contact while the song plays, each of us able to recall the words in our head.
O brother, brother avenge me
Avenge me with your sword
So all his children, near and far
May freely speak his word
Strike down the hate-hewn heart of Nadd
Stake Unifar's heav'nly claim
Swing swords, for it's no murder when
Committed in his name.
I have passed on; I cannot fight
So brother, I send you
Strike fierce, strike bold, and strike for blood
Strike harsh and brave and true
O brother, brother avenge me!
Avenge me with your sword!
So all the children, near and far
Forever speak God's word.
Saw's and my eyes have an entire conversation.
There's no way this is a coincidence, Bonteri.
My God, do you think she's possessing the box?!
If Steela was gonna possess something, she would go for a tank. Or possibly a fambaa. Something to wipe Cree off the face of the planet. We have to do it. We have to.
We can't let Ahsoka and Tandin know. They don't understand.
Saw shuts the lid of the music box while the strains of "St. Joanna's Song" still linger in the air and places it next to the other three relics.
"Let's go," he growls and walks into the catacombs. "I don't want to be around these any longer than I have to."
I extend my hand to Ahsoka. "I have to agree with him, Soka."
We exit the tomb and the door rumbles closed, sealing the artifacts inside forever.
…
St. Augusta's shrine is right next to St. Joanna's. When we exit the Unifar Temple, Saw's and my eyes drift over to the likeness of the youthful saint. Like in all her depictions, St. Joanna's hands are held out like the balances of a scale. In one hand she holds a knife, in the other a symbol of Unifras.
When I was young my mother taught me that the balance meant that prayer was just as good a weapon as a dagger. Now, I take it for the opposite.
…
Objective one: Do not, do not, do not let Ahsoka find out about what Saw and I are planning.
This is harder than one would think when the person who is not to find out is force-sensitive.
"Lux," Ahsoka says when we leave Saw and Tandin at the palace. "I know what you're thinking. Don't do it."
Well, it looks like that bubble's popped. "Ahsoka -."
"No," she says. "Lux, I love you dearly and you're one of my best friends, but I can't let you do this. I can't let you and Saw kill Cree."
"Why not?" I snap. "Ahsoka, he killed our friend. He let us think that our mistakes killed her, but it was him! This isn't murder; it's justice."
"No it's not," she says harshly. "You are talking about killing a prisoner awaiting trial. Let the judge decide his fate. The penalty for treason against the Onderonian throne is death; maybe they'll let you and Saw swing the sword.
Maybe, but that's not a gamble I'm willing to take. I relax, as if deflated. "You're right," I say and extend my arms for a hug. "I'm sorry. This day has just been really…hard."
When Ahsoka fits herself into my arms I reach for my utility belt and feel for my stunner. When she wakes up, she's going to boil me alive.
She sees it. "Lux Bonteri, don't you dare!"
"I'm sorry, Ahsoka," I say and stun her.
THIRD PERSON
Lux Bonteri and Saw Gerrera meet in the dark of the night in the Iziz Royal Palace. Each is clothed in black. Each is carrying a dagger.
The dagger may not have the civility of the lightsaber, but it gets the job done. It is the weapon obsessed over by regicidal kings, the deciding factor in scores of duels, possibly the first weapon of all. It is small, easy to use, and easy to conceal.
"Where's Ahsoka?" Saw asks.
"Napping,"
Saw knows what that means and decides not to comment. "You know which cell he's in?"
"We'll just have to guess. Shouldn't be hard."
Lux is right; it isn't hard. The militiamen placed Cree in the first cell on the left, per protocol. The ex-advisor sits quietly on his bench, staring straight ahead.
"Mr. Bonteri. Mr. Gerrera."
"Mr. Cree," Lux replies. "We just stopped by to let you know that we opened the tomb."
Cree perks up a bit. "What did you find?"
"We'll tell you later. But first I want to talk about houses.
"House Bonteri. Our sigil, a silver rose on a purple field," Lux says. "My mother taught me a great deal about roses. They look delicate, but they're hardy plants. You can cut a rosebush to the roots and it will grow back come the next spring with blossoms as bright as ever.
"But the thing she made sure I remembered," he says and unsheathes his dagger. "Is that roses have thorns."
Cree, the smart man that he is, knew what was coming but seeing the dagger is an entirely different story.
"House Gerrera is a newer house, having just come into power after the rebellion, but we still had a sigil for all those years," Saw says. "A black drexl on a sea green field, its wings extended and its jaw open. That way everyone who saw our banners would remember that drexls have teeth."
Saw pulls out his own dagger and Cree slumps in his seat.
"Get on with it," he says hollowly.
But Saw isn't done with him yet. "Do you know how drexl siblings live? You know they share their food in the nest and protect each other the rest of their lives?" His voice breaks. "Do you know they mourn when their siblings die?"
The sorrow doesn't last long; instead it's replaced by blinding rage. The sound of cannon shots, Steela's face, the tomb's drexl egg, St. Joanna's Song – they all combine together into an anger which would make Sith Lords cower in rage. Even the eldest and most horrible of Sith Lords knew the power of the love between brothers and sisters, whether it was St. Joanna's avenging her with the sword or Steela Gerrera's with two daggers.
When it's over Cree croaks. "Why didn't you just kill me? Why all this talk of roses and drexls and houses?"
"Just answering your question. My house sigil is the same thing we found in the tomb," Saw growls. "A drexl."
The irony that he killed a drexl for a drexl would be utterly lost on Cree had he stayed alive long enough to appreciate it.
Lux and Saw take their leave, bloody daggers clutched in their hands.
Far away, a restless soul in the arms of St. Joanna gets her vengeance and goes on her way.
…
General Tandin and King Dendup know what happened. They would have to be fools not to.
But they don't say anything. Maybe because they know Saw would never have closure if he didn't do it. Maybe because they would have done it if they had half a chance.
It might be because a soul whispered in their ears thank you for helping them to avenge me.
Whatever the reason, they order Cree's body cremated immediately and the king writes up his death certificate personally.
Cause of death: Sharp force trauma
Manner of Death: Suicide
…
"So Lux and Ahsoka, where do you think you're actually going to spend your shore leave?" Dendup asks over breakfast in the Royal Palace.
Ahsoka swallows her orange juice. She wasn't expecting this question from the king – the palace still stinks of murder and treasure hunting – but she'll welcome it. "I'm not sure, Your Highness. I was going to suggest Lux and I go back to his family's estates, but now that I think about it our best course of action might be to remain anonymous where we won't end up in any more excitement."
"Anoymimity has its benefits," Tandin shrugs. "I have to agree. You two deserve some relaxation."
"But not complete idleness," Lux breaks in. "The only reason I decided against going to my family's land is because it would be very much the same as remaining here in Iziz in that I'd still be home."
"You two need a vacation," Saw prescribes. "Maybe you could get a cabin in the Highlands. Or go to Naboo?"
"The lake country there is very relaxing," Ahsoka mulls. "But knowing Padme, she'd fly over just to drag me along on a shopping spree."
"Maybe not that one," Lux says. "Alderaan is beautiful too."
"I think Senator Organa would keep quiet for us. It's just the problem of -."
"WHAT DID I MISS?"
A sunburnt, tropical shirt-clad, out-of-breath man bursts through the door holding a suitcase in each hand.
Lux and Saw look at each other, and then at the new arrival.
"Oh. Hey, Hutch." Saw says and tries to hide behind his plate.
Hutch drops his suitcases. "I don't know much, but Bonteri said something about you and serial killers and whatever they sent me on Rion was creepy as heck so I'm ready to go. My computer's in one of these things; just give me the palace HoloNet password and we're all good to go."
"Um, man? It's all taken care of now…sorry." Lux says sheepishly. "We kind of forgot to tell you."
"Of course," Hutch moans. "Of course everything's taken care of. And nobody bothered to tell me after I went through the nine Corellian hells booking a return ticket earlier than expected, and my beach condo still has a week left on the rental. Of course that would happen to me."
Ahsoka starts to feel an idea tickling at her mind. "Can you go back?"
Hutch looks at her like she's crazy. "Uh, no. I didn't st- I mean, borrow – enough money for double space fare." He mopes and looks down at his suitcases. "At least work doesn't know I'm back yet."
"And your rental cabin still has a week on it?"
The gears turn in Lux's brain as well. "Yeah. Hutch, it couldn't have cost more than a thousand credits, could it?"
"A thousand credits is a lot of money to those of us who work at the Reddy Mart!" Hutch squeaks. "Why? Do you want to sub-rent it or something?"
Lux and Ahsoka take a minute to picture it: a rental cabin on the beaches of Rion, with nothing but blue water and white sands. No chasing psychopaths, no interrogation room battles, no breaking and entering, no treasure hunting, no revenge murders, no deception or intrigue or backstabbing…
Only peace, quiet, and maybe a cold drink or two.
Force knew they needed it.
"Yeah, Hutch. We'd actually like that very much."
And now to close out the story and the year. After all that's gone on during this story, Lux and Ahsoka deserve a little R&R in a tropical resort.
Thank you to Starwarshobbitfics and julyza for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!
Until next time,
LS
